


Mortals and Fae

by LadyoftheWoods



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Deciet is named Damien, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I Don't Know Either, Pixie Patton, Prinxiety - Freeform, Serious Injuries, Sympathetic Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Sympathetic Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Sympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Sympathetic Deceit | Janus Sanders, Sympathetic Logic | Logan Sanders, Sympathetic Morality | Patton Sanders, demus - Freeform, don't ask why the spelling of Damian changes every other use, fae remus, fae roman, human Dee, logicality - Freeform, nothing fatal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:47:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 35
Words: 79,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22889434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyoftheWoods/pseuds/LadyoftheWoods
Summary: Damien, injured and freezing, wanders into the woods with the intention of dying. Instead he finds himself in faerie ring and gives away his name, hoping the fae will end it all for him. He is surprised to find himself extremely mistaken.
Comments: 608
Kudos: 575
Collections: TS Hurt Comfort To Soothe The Soul





	1. Giving Up

**Author's Note:**

> Why work on one of the thousand other series and or stories I currently have half finished when I could write an entirely new and unrelated thing!!!   
> I got the first few lines stuck in my head and just had to write it out. As per usual, it has completely escaped my grasp and is becoming a full fledged story instead of the one off I intended. Off we go!

He doesn’t care. He’s said that in the past, of course, many times. When his one and only friend said he was cursed, bad luck, that he never wanted to see him again. When people in the market pointed and whispered because of his face. When the rumors started that he was a witch, that he could talk to serpents and send them to do his bidding. That he was a blight against everything and everyone. When even his friend did nothing to help him as the whole village turned against him, and for what? 

He could always tell when someone was lying. Even if it was a half truth, he could still tell. 

He could speak to snakes, but there were hardly any venomous varieties around, and he’d never asked one to do anything harder than keep mice out of his pantry. They were shy and quiet creatures. Mostly they just wanted to curl up on him, around his neck, or his arm, and observe the world. 

Like him. He’d never hurt anyone, never gotten in anyone’s way, kept to himself and kept his head down and stayed away as much as he could and still, still, it wasn’t enough. 

He would laugh, if he felt anything other than numb right now. He would raise his head to the sky and laugh and cackle madly like the witch they accused him of being, he would scream about the unfairness of it all, as if he hadn’t known that truth all his life. He would claw and pound and tear at anyone who came after him, he’d go so feral that not even his supposed friend would recognize him.

But he didn’t. For once, he felt absolutely, empty, nothing. It was almost peaceful, almost painful. If he was aware, he’d recognize this as bad, he’d watch where he was going, he’d notice that he was blindly stumbling deeper and deeper into the woods, not bothering to cover the trail he left behind, if they found him, so what? 

He stumbled, tripping over a root, landing on his knees, not bothering to catch himself. Maybe he’d just lay here, forever, never moving, let himself decompose, let the moss grow over him, then the grass, let wildflowers bloom from his corpse, let trees grow tall and strong and beautiful. Maybe someone would appreciate his beauty, when they found him, trees and flowers, and moss. 

Dimly, his brain was screaming at him, alarm bells ringing in some distant part that he’d locked away. Something about the flowers, forming a perfect ring on the ground in a wide radius around him. Something about how Lady’s Slipper and Daylily shouldn’t be blooming in this fall chill. Something about how orchids were so pretty but not at all native to this neck of the woods. 

But that part of his mind was far, far away from where he was now. He’d given up, after all. Just his luck it happened to be in a faerie circle. Just his luck he wouldn’t be allowed to just fade away here on the forest floor. 

“Well, lookie here! What little mortal made the decision to come play with me?” A raccous, loud sound. He didn’t respond. He didn’t care, didn’t even bother to close his eyes as the fae’s unnaturally beautiful face came into view. 

He was pale, an unearthly aura surrounding his body, which seemed to cast an almost sickly green glow across his skin. His eyes were a hypnotic, swirling green, which seemed to fade from deep, near black, to brilliant, neon green as he watched. They were manically wide, accentuated by the dark circles under them. His hair was long, a mess of feathers and beads and bones (?) tied in, making soft clinking sounds as the fae moved, cocking his head one way then the other. His smile was far too wide to be natural, and his teeth were slightly pointed, and he could almost glimpse a second row behind the first.

That was the most fixating thing about him, those eyes, that glow. He knew he’d tell the fae almost anything if he asked. There wasn’t a point to keeping secrets anymore, there wasn’t a point to hiding anything. The fae could do whatever he wanted, as long as he got him away. As long he didn’t have to feel anything, ever again.

“Um… shouldn’t you be doing something? Like… screaming?” Oh. Oh that was a good one. As if this was anything more terrifying that he’d already seen, as if this fae could be a bigger monster than humans, as if he had anything left to fear in this world or any other. 

He was numb. Not just on the inside, his body was numb. He wasn’t sure he could move any more if he tried. He did, and found with morbid fascination that he couldn’t even twitch his fingers anymore. He was warm. When had that happened? It was cold, and he’d ran, his clothes in tatters, too afraid to go home and try and snatch his clothing. Even in a light chill, he always wore his cloak, his scarf, his hat, his gloves. He had always been sensitive to the cold. 

Instead of responding to the fae, he curled up, trying to find any hint of warmth from the cold, hard, ground. He heard an intake of breath, as he felt cold breeze against his cheek. If he cared anymore, it would probably be painful. 

But he was empty. He had nothing. He didn’t care. For once, that was the truth. 

“Damien Alexander Lyre.” His voice was a void, it vibrated hollowly in his chest, it didn’t even sound like his own. It wasn’t anymore, he supposed. But being a puppet would be better than ever going back to thinking. 

“w-wha?” The fae stuttered. He opened his eyes, something in them causing the fae to recoil. 

“That is my name. Damien Alexander Lyre. Do with me what you will.” He closed his eyes, feeling the numbness overtake him. He let out a soft, low, sigh, hoping against hope, he never woke up.


	2. Strange Happenings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING this chapter describes what exactly the villagers put Dee through, so there's a bit of blood and possibly unsettling imagery in this chapter.
> 
> Remus meets Damien and realizes something is gravely wrong and Damien awakes in the house of the fae, expecting pain and instead getting a promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to write this from each of their perspectives. I might kinda give up on that in later chapters but we'll deal with that later. Let me know what you think so far, i'm really loving writing this story. Also, I picture Patton as having kinda furry moth antennae and dragonfly like wings, and veeery fluffy hair.

Remus was, to put it lightly, panicking. Most humans were clever enough to avoid faerie rings. Not to mention his was fairly deep in the forest, fairly well hidden. Those who did find it were usually of little to no interest. Fools looking for a deal, thinking they could outsmart or outwit him, thinking their clever little words games would save them. If they even got a chance to get the words out of their mouths, that is. 

But he hadn’t seen a human now for decades, at least. This was the first one to find him in ages! He should be excited, he had been excited, expecting someone to toy with, someone to scare and startle and trade banter with before they inevitably asked for something. Then the games began. A challenge impossible to beat, a quest that is incompletable, a deal that can never be met. Oh, it was fun to watch them unravel as they lost their minds to their greed, until they went mad from it. Driving them mad was his specialty, after all. 

And he had been! He’d felt that tug, felt his smile grow wide as he vanished from mid conversation with his brother, excited to terrorize the human who was already cowering on the ground. 

Only… only this wasn’t right. This wasn’t right at all. No one, no one gave away their name to a fae, especially not to him. Even the smallest child would know better. And his voice… there was no fear, no worry, no joy, nothing, not the slightest intonation to it. That was certainly not normal. 

Then he’d seen it. The glistening on his face, the deep, scarred, red that should not be there, the flesh torn and ripped and bloody. He felt an unusual spike of anger. Why should he care? He shouldn’t, he knew that. 

But the human had given him his name. Without asking for anything, without promising anything, without expecting anything but a slow, cruel, death or to dance forever or… or whatever Remus desired of him. This was the first human to ever willingly tell them his name. Something had hurt this person so deeply and so badly that they were willing to give themselves away to the least trustworthy race in existence. That spoke volumes. 

Maybe that’s why he already thought of this human, this… Damien, as his. Not in a proprietary sense, though that would actually make sense. He could justify his anger, over someone damaging his goods. He could justify his concern, because if his human wasn’t well, he couldn’t play with him. He could rationalize the protectiveness spiking through him, he was just defending his terf. 

But he knew it wasn’t. It was because he looked so small, curled up in the leaves and browning grass. It was because he hadn’t asked for a single thing. It was because he was broken, and hurt, and vulnerable. It was because he had given his name. Because he was sure, somehow utterly sure, that of all the humans in the world, his Damien deserved this hurt the least. 

Carefully, he scooped Damien up, into his arms, wincing at how cold he was. That was certainly not normal. He wasn’t even shivering anymore, even though it felt like touching solid ice. His chest seemed to rise and fall at regular intervals, so that was good, right? Unless he was breathing too fast, or too slow. He didn’t know the first thing about humans! But he knew who would. With a gust of wind, he vanished, the flowers withering and browning behind him. 

**************************************************

He was cold. He was shaking, shivering so badly it felt like convulsions. He felt something on top of him and he cried out, struggling. They’d caught up, they’d caught him, he had to get away!

“Shh, shh, shh. It’s all right.” The voice was low, and almost sounded like it had been crying, and he didn’t recognize it, which was somehow the most comforting thing in the world. Because anyone he recognized couldn’t be trusted, hadn’t stopped it from happening, hadn’t helped him. He let his mind haze and drift, falling back asleep. 

He drifted in and out, occasionally catching snippets of voices, of conversation. Dimly he registered they were talking about him, more often than not. He couldn’t really comprehend their words. Something about cold, something about injured, a disbelieving tone, countered by a worried one. 

When he finally started regaining consciousness, the first thing he felt was disappointment. The second was pain. 

It wasn’t much, at first, but the more aware he became, the more it burned up and down his entire body, fire tracing the raw, red lines that had been carved into him.

He remembered hands, holding him down, snarling voices and faces, saying they’d cut the devil out of him. Cold iron against his face, begging, pleading, wishing he actually was a witch, because surely one would be able to fight back, then the world was white hot fire as the dagger dug into his skin, as they peeled away his scales one by one, laughing at his screams, at his pleas, only holding him down harder, until he could feel the bruises forming on his wrists, the choking pressure pressing down on his neck, their breath hot and rancid in his face, as they chained him and dragged him through the town, to the hastily constructed, makeshift dungeon, because they weren’t finished with him yet, gods know they weren’t.   
They came back later, and he still tried to fight, snarling and clawing, but they’d hit him, sending him dizzily sprawling to the ground, his cuffs digging into his skin, and he’d already been dizzy and weak from the blood loss. They’d decided he should be marked, and they’d started cutting, carving scales into him. 

When that wasn’t enough, they’d brought out the brand, hot iron steaming against his skin, the smell of burnt flesh all he could taste, all he could smell. He’d screamed his voice raw, until he tasted copper, until darkness danced across his vision, exploding like super novas against his eyelids, until blood vessels popped and he couldn’t scream anymore, couldn’t think anymore, couldn’t breathe anymore.

Someone was singing. Someone was softly, oh so softly, teasing their fingers through his hair and singing a strange, lilting melody he didn’t know, but that seemed to soak into his bones, radiating peace, and that voice was a beautiful, rich baritone. And he remembered what he’d done, giving himself away to the fae, and he still, still, didn’t regret it. 

“-waking up! What do I do?” The singing stopped, and he shivered, feeling the cold that had settled into his bones once more. He curled tighter, feeling the tears trickling down his face, his breath coming in heaving gasps, as the last of the empty numbness fled and he was left to his unmerciful feelings. 

“Oh, shit, oh no, PAT, COULD USE A HAND!” He flinched, it was too loud, everything was too loud, too bright, too much. 

“Hey there, kiddo.” Suddenly there were light blue eyes in front of his face, they looked like a cloudless spring sky, like the aqua of ocean waters on warm days, like the soft light of stars. His voice was warm and soft and gentle, and spoke of safety and light and hope. Hope, that burned the back of his throat, because he didn’t have any hope left to his name. 

He closed his eyes, not wanting to see what this new fae was going to do to him, wishing he could go back to not feeling, because this was like his heart was cracking, like his ribs were breaking, like his soul was dying, as he remembered and felt and saw it all over and over. No one helped. No one came running at his screams, no one stepped in, no one said it was wrong. He’d had to break one of his hands to slip out of the cuffs chaining him to the wall, his nails were broken from where he’d scrabbled against the hard packed earth of the wall, managing to make a hole just big enough to wriggle out of, he’d been so delirious by then he hadn’t had an ounce of common sense, and so terrified that there was nowhere he could go. Not back to his home, not to his “friend’s” not to anyone. So, he ran, stumbled, bumbled his way into the woods, just trying to get away, get far away. And now that the numbness was gone, he could feel the ache echoing through every inch of him, the still too hot left side of him, where the scales were branded into him, bloody and peeling and cracking. He could feel every cut the knife had made, every scale that had been torn away pounded and fizzled and sparked with fiery coldness that burned, that hurt, that stung. 

“Oh, baby. I know it hurts. I know. But you’re gonna be all fixed up in no time. No one’s gonna hurt you again.” He would have laughed at that, he almost did, coming from fae who owned him. But he could always tell lies from truth. Still, it wasn’t his fae who had said it, so it didn’t really matter. He heard a flurry of whispers above him, no doubt discussing what they’d do with him, how they’d toy with him, how they’d break him. As if there was anything left to break.   
“D-Damian.” He jerked, gasping as his eyes flew open, not liking the tug in his soul that demanded he listen, that forced control out of his hands. But when he met those green eyes, he saw nothing but hesitance, almost fear. He realized that the fae was afraid of saying the wrong thing, of hurting him. But why would he care? Why would anyone? 

He was bad luck, after all. A blight, a plague, a doom. He brought misery and strife wherever he went and the sooner they realized that, the sooner they’d do what they should have from the start. The townspeople were cruel, after all, but they had been right.

“no. Ree, now. Say it now, or you’ll lose him.” That warm soft voice again, fear tinging his tone. 

His fae cleared his throat, nervously. “Damian Alexander Lyre.” He gasped at the use of his full name, at the invoking of it, waiting for the pain or the punishment or the sentence. Idly, he wondered what it would be. He’d heard of humans forced to dance until their bodies burned up from the exertion, until they dropped dead and even then their bodies didn’t stop moving until they decayed and crumbled to dust. 

He’d heard of humans who were forced to sing until their throats bled, until their vocal cords were torn to shreds, until all they could do was wail in pain and misery, the sweetest music of all to the fae. 

He’d heard of humans kept for what felt like an hour, only to find a thousand years had passed in the mortal world and the second they returned they crumbled to dust. 

He hoped it was that one. Hoped it was something swift. 

“On my life and my crown, I swear I will protect you. I will do everything within my power to make sure you are safe, and well, and happy. I will do everything within my power to make sure you are never harmed in any way ever again. I will never harm you in any manner for any reason. I promise.” His mind stalled to a stop. 

He found he couldn’t seem to formulate words, this made no sense. Why was his fae swearing to protect him from harm? Why did he care? Why…

It was too much. It was too much and he was too tired, and he didn’t know what to think or what to do or how to stop these tears that seemed unable to be quelled. And he didn’t understand why, but he knew without a doubt, that his fae had not been lying when he’d invoked his name, it was impossible to. There was power in a name, after all, and using his full name made the oath that much stronger. This was not an empty promise. 

This was a fact, as true as the sun rising and setting every day, as true as the leaves falling in autumn, as certain as the moon and its phases. The fae had made a new law of nature. 

Damien was to be protected. Damian was to be cared for. Damien was not to be hurt. The line was drawn, and any who crossed it would suffer. 

He didn’t understand why. That didn’t matter. What mattered is he believed it. He let the fear in his stomach unwind, let the panic bubbling inside him fade, let his muscles untense, let himself sink into the soft cushions he could feel surrounding him, let the soft blanket be tucked back around him, let himself nuzzle closer to the warmth of his fae, curling into a tight ball. 

Above him, the tension in Remus’s shoulders relaxed as he felt his human drift back off to sleep, a small smile crossing his face as Damien pulled closer to him, and let him drape the thick blanket around him. He was slow to warm up, but he was getting there. He went back to teasing through his hair, as that had seemed to soothe him before, and he enjoyed its softness. After a quiet moment, he lifted his eyes, meeting the blues of his best friend, who was half sitting on the armrest of a chair across from him. 

“thank you.” He said softly, not wanting to wake the human. The poor fellow was exhausted, both from his wounds and the effect of the magic that was currently helping to heal him. He gently ran his thumb over the light gold scales that now graced his human’s face, smiling as he nuzzled deeper into his touch, almost letting out a little purr of contentment.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: talk of serious injuries that might be unsettling. 
> 
> Patton and Remus discover the extent of Damien's injuries and tend to him, while Remus mostly mildly panics. Mostly the previous chapter from Remus's point of view.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't help myself, so have another chapter. This should be the end of semi graphic injuries, so, hurray! Also I love my soft bois. 
> 
> Also I usually name the chapters, but I couldn't think of a good one for this one, so feel free to comment ideas.
> 
> As always, thanks for ready, and let me know what you think! I promise some fluff is coming.

He’d taken the human straight to Patton. He hadn’t bothered knocking, as he usually would, just to be polite before barging in before he answered the door anyways, of course. No, today he’d appeared in the middle of his kitchen, scaring the pixie half to death, before blurting out everything that he knew so far and everything that had happened in the most nonsensical, disorderly mess of words. Luckily, pixie’s fluffy little moth like antennae were good for helping Patton to pick up others emotions. He also had the rare ability to sense direct thoughts, a skill that came from his extra sensitivity, and that could very easily get overwhelming.

But it came in handy now as his expression darkened, ranging from shock to horror to confusion to determination. He hadn’t said a word, merely tugged Remus along into the living room. He’d vanished into the back of the house, returning with bandages, healing salve, a potion, and soft pajamas. 

“The wounds are deep and varied, so despite using the potion, we’re going to have to disinfect and bind them in the meantime, so they don’t get infected. Plus, we don’t know how long he was wandering until he found your ring, he could already be ill.” They’d worked as quickly as possible, a good team, knowing each other’s movements and thoughts without speaking. 

They were both horrified and outraged as they stripped the clothes off of the human. His entire right side was a mess of gashes and oozing flesh, where it looked almost like something had been pried off of him. The trail of devastation started on his cheek, then picked up again on his upper arm and halfway down his side from mid back to mid front, then continued in patches down the rest of his torso. His other side had a pattern cruelly and meticulously cut into it, though the cuts got deeper and more inconsistent as they went, until they were just slashes in his skin. Across his torso they turned into burn marks, where blisters and charred skin revealed red rawness and oozing blood. His wrists and throat were bruised a dark purple, almost black, and his one thumb was dislocated, if not broken. The rest of him was peppered in ugly green bruises, as if he’d been punched or kicked. 

Patton could see the murder glowing in Remus’s eyes, the way his fists clenched and his jaw tightened, and he carefully reached out, placing a hand on his shoulder. Remus let out a deep breath, before nodding, carefully dabbing a wet cloth against the wounds before applying the salve. The human barely whimpered, barely made a single noise, didn’t even shed a single tear despite how much agony he must have been in. It only made Remus more furious. 

Finally, Patton held the potion, focusing intently. After a moment, it began to glow a soft, light blue. Remus lifted the human into a sitting position, opening his mouth and massaging his throat so he’d swallow the liquid. Then they put him in the pajamas, Remus had settled them on the couch, placing the human’s head in his lap and wrapping him tightly in as many blankets as they could find, hoping that would warm him fast enough. 

It did. His shivering started soon after, as feeling returned to his body. At one point the human flailed, trying to fight, but he managed to soothe him back into calmness, into sleep. 

The potion would heal him faster, but it used his own energy to do so. It would leave the human weak in his moments of consciousness, and deeply tired until he was fully healed, then the sleep would actually allow him to get fully rested and replenish whatever energy his body burned through. Without it, the human would never have recovered properly, if at all, the deep gashes in his skin would have left ugly scars, and he’d have been disfigured from the burns for the rest of his life. By the time the potion was finished, however, there would barely be even a mark on his body, and hardly any sensitivity from the injuries, despite their severity.

Remus had been excited, ecstatic, really, when they changed his bandages for the first time and saw the progress. Most of the shallower cuts along his left half had already closed up, though the deeper ones were still angry red indents. The burns were making good progress as well, new, pink flesh starting to peak through the charred dead stuff. His right side where the strange patches of trauma were, were taking longer, of course. They’d been deeper, rougher, done so much more damage. Still, there were some signs of improvement, and also…

“Pat? I don’t know much but, humans don’t usually have scales, right?” He’d asked. Patton had frowned, fluttering over, his nervousness making his gossamer thin wings flap almost as fast as a hummingbird’s, his feet perpetually a few inches off the ground. 

“No. They don’t.” He dropped to the ground, examining the patch Remus was looking at, eyes widening as he saw the first few golden scales, still soft and unhardened, easily damaged, growing back in.

“Is that bad?” Remus squeaked. Patton tilted his head, trying to get a read on the human’s dreams, to see if he could find anything. Snippets of memories, thoughts. Nothing sensible, but enough. 

“no. I think… I think he’s always had them. I think they… I think they peeled them off.” His face paled and he fell into a chair, looking as if he might pass out. He could see it now, angry faces, cool metal, blinding agony clawing through his chest until he couldn’t scream, couldn’t breathe, and still, every scale was a new unquenchable fire, was a new burning pinprick of heat against his skin. 

“Ree, they cut them out, one by one. They… they hurt…” Patton found himself scrubbing at his eyes, sniffling slightly. He was always overly emotional, a hazard of being so in tune with everyone else’s thoughts and feelings, but this was like nothing he’d ever felt. Even in his sleep, the human gave off such a strong aura of surrender, of hopelessness, of… of doneness. 

“Pat.” Remus lifted his other arm, and Patton tucked himself against his side in an instant, letting Remus’s lilting melody soothe his thoughts, drown out the emotions that were too much, let himself get some sleep as well. 

Having Patton there was invaluable. Remus was terrible at reading people, their emotions, their comfort level, he had no sense of social graces. He didn’t need to. He was one of the Princes, after all, no one dared speak out against anything he did, and he truly didn’t do anything that bad. Mostly pranks and accidents caused by his legendary lack of impulse control and forethought, along with spur of the moment duels with his brother that had torn up the castle more times than they could count. He was odd, unpredictable, temperamental, but he always tried to be fair and just when it came to his people. 

Unfortunately, he knew nothing about human culture, human etiquette, what they ate, how they dressed, what was harmful and what wasn’t, he was completely in the dark on healing and tending to wounds, used to his own healing so fast sometimes they were literally gone in the blink of an eye. 

But Patton spent a lot of time in the human realm, he was always telling stories about humans he’d met, or human folklore he’d learned, he was curious and wanted to know everything about everything, no matter how many times Remus had told him it was dangerous. For once, he was glad Patton never listened to him, because Patton knew exactly how to help his human, who surely would have died without Patton.

And now that the human had woken up, he was once again panicking, because the human was crying and he didn’t know why or what had caused it or what to do to make it stop.

But Patton was on the ground before the human, seeming to have gotten his focus, was whispering words of comfort, so how come the human wasn’t calming down? How come he seemed to only be getting more agitated? The human had turned away and closed his eyes, shoulders shaking with repressed sobs. 

“Ree. You have to do something.” Patton hissed, shocking Remus out of his stupor. 

“What am I supposed to do? I don’t know what to do!” He whisper shouted, not wanting to scare the human any more than he already had. 

“He doesn’t trust us. Obviously. And he doesn’t trust when I say he’s going to be safe because I’m not ‘his fae’. You have to promise him.” Remus blushed a bit at the fact that the human was referring to him as “his”, knowing that was the same way he’d been thinking of the human this whole time. Promise. A fae promise. That was a powerful thing. 

“D-damien.” He cursed his stutter, the human’s eyes flying open, a sharp gasp escaping him. He winced slightly, feeling the pull in himself, how the name tugged at the human’s will, forced him to listen. He hated that control, he swore to himself never to use it again after this, but he didn’t know how else to get through to the human, his human that he would be safe. 

He was afraid. Not of making the promise, swearing the oath, which would be unbreakable and inflict on him a serious punishment for breaching it, likely cutting him off from all of his magic. Not of saying the words aloud, because he knew already that he would go to the ends of the realms and back if this human asked him to do so. He was afraid of saying something wrong, of scaring the human away, of only making him more afraid. 

“no.” Patton’s voice was faint, not directed at Remus, rather at something the human had thought. “Ree, now. Say it now or we’ll lose him.” Remus took a deep breath, organized his words into actual sentences, and spoke. 

“Damien Alexander Lyre.” The human’s eyes once again went wide as he flinched, focusing up on his face. Remus hoped he could read the sincerity in his eyes, hoped his words would be enough. “On my life and my crown, I swear I will protect you. I will do everything within my power to make sure you are safe, and well, and happy. I will do everything within my power to make sure you are never harmed in any way ever again. I will never harm you in any manner for any reason. I promise.”

He held his breath, waiting for his human’s reaction. He watched confusion, befuddlement, suspicion, then confusion flit across his face faster than he’d known people could feel. Then something inside the human caved and Remus felt him relax into the cushions, felt him take a deep breath and close his eyes, felt him curl ever so slightly closer against him as his breathing evened out. 

Now it was hours later. The human was still asleep, curled even tighter against him, seemingly seeking out any source of heat he could. From what Patton had said, it seemed his human was more prone to the cold, and relied more on external heat sources than normal. And still, he found his gaze drawn to those teardrop scales, that glinted and shone rose gold in the soft candlelight, he still hadn’t gotten tired of touching them. 

It seemed like the human was extra sensitive in that area. Every time he stroked his thumb over the scales with a feather light touch, the human let out his little purr, leaning into his hand, so much so that he was now using it as a pillow as Remus petted the smooth, metallic surface of his cheek. 

“He must have some fae blood, don’t you think?” He murmured, voice low, not wanting to disturb his human, who looked more relaxed and peaceful now than he had before, a small almost smile gracing his lips in his sleep. Good, he knew Patton was doing his best to send pleasant dreams his way. 

“He’s got something, that’s for sure. I’ve never seen fae blood present itself like that before, though. I mean, I know it’s unpredictable but… scales seem too random.” Remus nodded. Most half fae had some abnormalities, the pointed ears or unearthly eyes or a slight glow to their skin. They usually had some magical prowess as well, anything from full magical range to something as small as having a green thumb. It wasn’t always obvious to other humans, certainly not to this extent. Usually the magic they had corresponded to an ability of the fae parent, as well, but no power Remus could think of would manifest as scales. He wondered what, if any, ability the human possessed. 

“Why do you keep calling him that?” Patton asked softly from his chair, where he was curled under a blanket, idly staring at a book he couldn’t focus on, chin propped on his hand. 

“What?” Remus asked, startled out of his reverie. 

“You keep calling him ‘the human’ or ‘your human’. Why not call him by his name?” Remus flinched, his free hand squeezing open and shut. 

“It feels… wrong. I don’t want to use it. I won’t use it. It’s easier to call him human in my head, so I don’t slip and use his name out loud. I won’t control him like that, and I won’t risk letting others do it either.” His voice was fierce, defensive, but when he looked at Patton, he found no judgement. Only curiosity and a worryingly mischievous glint in his eyes, as if he knew something no else yet did. 

“Ok. But we’re going to have to ask him for a filler name, then. It seems rude to just call him human to his face.” Patton scrunched his nose, making Remus chuckle. 

“Fair point.” He sighed. “he should have just given me a filler name in the first place. That’s the sensible human thing to do.” He grumbled, making Patton laugh, the noise a bit like water burbling through a brook. 

“If he lacks all sensibilities, I’d say he’s perfect for you, Ree. Gods know you were born without any common sense.” Remus gasped, mock offended.

“How dare you insult the Prince of this realm? I shall have you jailed, traitor!” 

“You claim to be fair yet you imprison a citizen for telling nothing but truths? What has the world come to!” Patton replied, grinning. Remus laughed, rolling his eyes, finding them once again fixed on the human’s sleeping face. 

“he’s going to be ok, you know. It’s gonna take some time, but he’s gonna get there.” Patton said softly, reading his thoughts. Remus nodded, throat suddenly tight, hoping Patton knew what he was talking about.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman is a bit of an asshole and Remus sets him straight. The fae and Damien have a chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've given up on chapter names! Also thanks so much for all the support this is getting, it's really amazing. Roman isn't going to stay a jerk for long, so don't hate on him too hard.

“REMUS AZAZAEL EVERTHORN WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING?!” Damian jumped awake at the sudden shout, instantly scrambling backwards and falling off the couch, landing on the floor with the air knocked out of him, a sharp spike of pain shooting into his skull, as if glass had splintered inside his brain. 

Towering over him was a new fae, with burning orange eyes and a deep frown on his face. His skin was much tanner than his fae’s, and he seemed to glow dimly golden. His breathing stopped as the fae leaned in, uncomfortably close, as he tried to push himself back farther, but he was pressed against the couch and seemed frozen in place, his heart pounding so hard he thought it would explode. 

“well, well, well. What little fly has landed itself in the spider’s web?” The fae purred, eyes almost hungrily tracing his face, a small quirk coming to his lips as he took in the scales. He reached out, and Damien shrunk back, turning his head away, trying to avoid that touch, but there was nowhere to go, and something in that fae reminded him of fire, and he felt it licking at his skin all over again, burning red behind his eyelids. 

But no touch came. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder, but it was soft and warm, and peeking open his eyes revealed it to be the other fae he’d already seen, that had been kind and nice and warm. He realized that the fae was talking to him, saying something, but he couldn’t hear it over the pounding in his chest, his breath too fast, like a moth fluttering against his skin. 

Slowly, the fae reached out, gently tugging his hand free from where it was clutching at his shirt, resting it against the fae’s chest. He could feel the steady heartbeat against his palm, felt the soft rise and fall of breath, and after a few moments he managed to match it. 

“Good, that’s good, you’re doing good.” He could hear the fae murmuring, watching him intently. He took a final deep breath, feeling himself fully return. He turned his attention to his fae, who had leapt to stand in front of where the two of them sat on the floor, having pushed the new one, sending him stumbling back a few steps. 

“Whoa, chill out, Ree, I was just messing with it.” The new fae exclaimed, taking a step back, hands raised slightly. He yelped as Damian’s fae swiped at him with a morning star he’d seemingly summoned out of thin air. 

“He’s not a toy, Roman. He’s already been tortured and terrified out of his mind without you inflicting any more damage.” He could hear the snarl in Remus’s voice, something primal that made him shiver. Roman scoffed. 

“Puh lease, it’s just a human. You wouldn’t even have kept it at all if it wasn’t interesting. I just wanted to get a good look! Besides, you’re one to talk about inflicting damage.” 

“Uh oh.” The nice fae had time to get out, before green fire exploded around Remus’s mace, and he lunged forwards at unnatural speeds, almost too fast for Damien’s eye to follow. Roman barely managed to avoid the blow, the weapon ripping his shirt. 

“Ha! You miss-“ Roman’s gloating was cut off as a fist connected firmly with his face, sending him sprawling across the ground. In a second, Remus was crouched on top of him, feet planted on his chest as he glared down, their faces separated by mere inches. 

“You want to know why I brought him home? He wandered into my circle more than half dead, hurt and freezing and afraid. He didn’t ask for a single goddamn thing, even though he was very clearly going to die without aid. He gave me his name, expecting nothing but instant death or an existence where he was a powerless puppet, resigned to either fate. He made no bargains, said no flattery, made no excuses, didn’t even plead. He gave himself to me without a second thought, without wanting anything at all, more terrified of the world he came from than our world of fae.

So don’t you dare come near him again until you are ready to sincerely apologize for your behavior, don’t you dare threaten him or I will rip out your throat and watch you bleed, don’t you dare even think of him or I will dig into your skull and rip out that eensy weensy brain of yours, brother dear. And I promise,” he leaned in close, eyes glowing with power, teeth sharp and feral as he whispered directly in Roman’s ear, “I will make it slow.” Faster than Damien could blink, Remus was standing back before him, hands on his hips, smile back to normal, eyes their usual green. 

“Anyway, I’ll see you later, Ro, looking forward to catching up, I’m sure you had a full day after I left, adventuring and such. Tell Logan I’ll be at dinner tomorrow, and I’ll make up missing them, but it was an emergency. Ciao.” Roman blinked once, before standing up with a groan and a slight scowl, stomping out the door and slamming it behind him. 

“what the hell…” Damien breathed out, hands in his hair, almost clutching at it. “what the actual fuck was that…” He winced slightly as Remus turned around, crouching before him swiftly, a tad too reminiscent of how he’d just stood on the other fae. But his eyes now were gentle, concerned, and Damien found himself relaxing just slightly. 

“Apologies. My brother never did learn any manners, contrary to his claims of chivalry. I doubt he would have actually harmed you, but he knows as little about humans as me, which is to say nothing. Still, I’m sorry he scared you. Are… are you alright?” Was he… the fae was asking… if he was okay? Somehow that was too much. 

He found he was laughing, hysterical, manic laughs, that tore at his chest and ripped at his throat, until he was doubled over from the pain of it, the laughter slowly turning into sobs as he rocked on the floor. 

“Am I… okay? Oh, that’s a laugh and a half. Am I okay?” He wheezed out, arms hugging himself around his middle. “The people I’ve known for all my life turned against me in an instant, with unjustified anger and hate, ripped my scales from me, burned new ones into me, were going to hang me if I hadn’t escaped, and you’re asking me, if I am ok?” He shook his head, tears streaming down his face like a river, and he absently swiped at them, pressing his palms against his closed lids, trying to quell the flow. “no. no I’m not ok. I don’t think I’ve ever been less ok. I don’t even know why you care or why you decided to protect me, much less help me, I don’t understand, why you defended me, I don’t understand what you want from me!” He pressed his hands harder against his lids, the small pressure helping to calm him down, helping the sobs to stop wrenching at his insides, making the aching pain he already felt even worse. 

“Oh, Sunshine.” He felt a soft, tender touch against his scales, and he let out a shaking breath. No one had ever touched his scales before, had either conspicuously avoided looking at them or openly glared. They hurried passed him with lowered heads or crossed streets to avoid him. No one lingered on his face, on him, lest he pass on his curse to them, as if he were an infection they could catch by simply looking at him. The only one who had ever looked at him without fear- 

His thoughts were cut off from that unpleasant line of memories as he felt Remus gently run his thumb across his scales, sending shivers down his spine. He found himself making a soft rumbling noise, and blinked his eyes open in surprise, the rumbling stopping as Remus removed his hand. 

“Huh. That’s new.” He said, so purely bewildered it made Patton giggle. 

“You didn’t know you purred?! But it’s adorable!” Patton exclaimed, causing Damien to blush, his scales changing to a soft rosy color that matched his human cheek. Patton squealed harder. 

“No one’s ever really bothered to touch me, much less my scales, so no, I did not know I… purred.” Damien answered, refusing to meet either of their eyes. “No one… no one ever…” He refused to think about Him. Refused to believe He’d ever cared, not after what he’d said, what he’d done. 

“I don’t want anything from you. I don’t expect anything of you. You can go wherever you like, you can do whatever you choose, you are not beholden to me, or anyone else.” The taste of truth was like vanilla against his tongue, soft and sweet. 

“Why?” he asked softly. 

“Because you were, are, hurting. You gave me everything you are and asked for absolutely nothing. Because you deserve it. Because you never deserved to be hurt so. Because I believe you deserve to be safe and happy and loved.” Remus’s own voice broke on the final word, and Damien finally raised his mismatched eyes to meet Remus’s. Remus hadn’t really gotten a good look at his eyes before. 

The one on the side with the scales was a molten gold, practically glowing in the light, the other was a deep, chocolate brown, with specks of gold around the iris. They were beautiful, gods this human was beautiful. 

He was caught off guard when the human smiled, a bit wobbly, but a smile, and half lunged, half fell, into his lap, head buried against his chest, hands fisted around his shirt. He cautiously wrapped his arms around the human in a loose embrace, not wanting him to feel trapped. 

“ok.” The human whispered, so faint he could barely hear it, but his arms tightened around his human, and he rested his chin against his head, enveloping him in warmth. 

“You’ll have to come up with a name for yourself, besides your real one, I mean. Even if you choose to leave, you don’t want to be giving your name out willy nilly. Despite how it turned out the first time, it really is quite a poor idea.” He felt more than saw the human let out a breathy laugh, that turned into a huge yawn. 

“you should get back to sleep. You’re still not fully healed.” 

“You don’t say. What gave it away for you? For me it was the shooting pain up my spine and the ache all over everywhere else.” He murmured, causing Remus to laugh. 

“Was that some sass, little snake? I didn’t know you had it in you.” Damien pulled back, smile playing on his lips. 

“You don’t know hardly anything about me.” 

“Oh, not yet, Sunshine. But I hope to learn everything.” There was a wicked gleam in his eye that made Damien shiver, that set off his primal fight or flight response, but he found he liked the strange flip flopping of his stomach, found that he was smiling despite himself, found that he felt, for once in his life, safe. 

Without another word, he curled up tight against Remus’s chest, snuggling against his warmth, he swore no humans were this warm, it was so nice to be actually warm, for once. He felt Remus’s arms around him, easily lifting him and shifting them onto the couch once more. Damien found himself purring once more, simply at the joy of being touched, being held, being warm, being safe. 

Remus let out a huge breath as his human once again drifted off to sleep, seemingly much more at peace and much more comfortable in his presence than he previously had been, if practically falling asleep on his lap was any sign of comfort. 

He looked down at Patton, realizing the pixie had his hands on his cheeks, a giant grin on his face, his eyes bright and full of happy tears, no doubt squealing at a pitch only bats could hear. 

“What, Pat?” He asked, chuckling as the pixie bounced to his feet, immediately lifting off the ground a few inches, wings a mere vibration of air to the naked eye with how fast they were moving. 

“You did really good, Ree. I’m really proud of you, handling all that.” Remus narrowed his eyes. Patton’s antennae were twitching, that only happened when he was very overwhelmed or very excited. 

“Uh huh, thank you. Now, what are you really hovering about?” Patton had that shit eating grin back on his face, and he practically radiated energy. 

“You like him. You like, like like him.” Remus spluttered, trying to cover his flushing face, trying to gasp in air like a man drowning in the sea. 

“wh-no! I just met him, I can’t possibly, I don’t, that would be, no! nope, nopity nope!” He stuttered, merely causing Patton to laugh, who was now bumping the ceiling, giggling so hard he had flipped over upside down in the air and was now doing slow summersaults. 

“You do! Ree, this is so good! Why aren’t you happy!?” 

“Because he’s an emotionally unstable human who has given me his very being and I refuse to ask anything of him because he would feel he has to comply even if it makes him uncomfortable because he knows I basically own him?! What about that is ideal?” Remus hissed back quietly, as Damien shifted in his lap. Patton deflated slightly, sinking back to the ground, but he still wore that infuriating smirk on his face. 

“What?” Patton just shook his head, sauntering out of the room. 

“I’m going to go get some sleep. You have fun cuddling your human.” 

“What? Pat, no, what do you know? Patton!” He whisper shouted, wanting to shake the answers out of the pixie, knowing he couldn’t catch the little rascal even if he tried. Instead he sunk back against the couch, once more focused on his human, on his steady heartbeat, his gentle breathing, how it ruffled his bangs, how his scales sparkled in the light, how much better he looked than when he’d first come to Patton. 

Roman’s interruption marked the start of the fourth day the human had been mostly asleep, the potion doing it’s work wonderfully. Remus had no doubt that by tomorrow Damien would be ready to be up and about. 

Thinking about his idiot brother immediately dampened his mood. He was going to kill him the next chance he got, for scaring his human so, after Remus had promised he’d be safe. He was going to kill absolutely anyone who dared to speak or act against his human.

And that was the tricky part, wasn’t it? Because in a day, Damien would be fully recovered, and he’d no doubt want to explore. And Remus really couldn’t avoid getting out of another dinner without Logan kicking down the door to drag him home by the ear. The advisor stood for a lot of their antics, but he did insist that they spend some of the day actually going over documents, which had evolved into nightly casual dinners, as that was the only thing that could bribe the brothers to stay still long enough to actually get any paperwork done. 

Ah, paperwork. The bane of his existence. He’d decree it illegal, if he could, but that would require filling out paperwork. A vicious paradoxical loop he refused to partake in. 

He shook his head, focusing back on the issue. No doubt the rumors were already starting, it was unheard of, after all, for Remus to go this long a stretch of being quiet, not causing any trouble or blowing anything up. And if Roman had decided to spill what he’d seen, which he would have, if only because he was pissed at the moment and incapable of keeping anything to himself, then the whole court would know by now about “Prince Remus’s strange scaled pet human.” Just the thought made him mad enough to punch something, and he found himself absently twirling his Morningstar. Good ‘ol spikey, always there to help with his contemplations. 

It didn’t matter what the other fae at court thought. He would make it extremely clear that Damien was to be treated with the same respect and courtesy they showed their princes, that he was not a pet, not owned, that he was an honored guest, not a captive play thing. If anyone acted otherwise, well, he was excited to teach them some manners. 

What he was truly afraid of was the stares Damien would get. The whispers about his scales, about his strangeness. Simply being human would have made him an oddity in a world filled with barely any humans, even fewer that were there by choice. He didn’t want Damien to feel gawked at, didn’t want the fearful stares he’d escaped to be replaced by hungry, desirous ones. He just wanted him to be safe. And he would burn the court to the ground if that’s what it took to make it happen.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton being a ball of sass, and lots of fluff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a shorter one, but I couldn't resist the fluff.

He woke slowly, happily warm and cozy, something secure around him, making him feel safe, and he hummed happily as he yawned, slowly blinking open his eyes. He was in Remus’s lap, snuggled against his chest. One of Remus’s arms was wrapped around his waist, holding him close, the other was cradling his head, clearly Remus had fallen asleep in the middle of stroking his hair. 

Remus’s head was lolling back against the couch cushion, and Damien chuckled as he let out a monstrous snore, nose twitching slightly. He had a sharp chin and an angular face, the tips of his pointed ears sticking up through his dark hair. Looking closer, he realized what he had taken to be black, was actually a dark iridescent color, shifting from deep emerald to almost black purple, like a raven’s feathers. 

He could see some of the decorations that were strung in his hair now, as well. There were little brass and wooden beads intricately woven into braided patterns. There were some actual feathers in there as well, bright flashes of color contrasting his hair. There were bones, as well, simply knotted randomly into his hair, dangling and clinking against each other, with a sound almost like windchimes. 

He was still dressed in actual clothes, unlike Damian, who realized at some point he’d been changed into the softest pajamas he’d ever felt in his life. That alone almost made him curl up and go back to sleep, but he was loathe to give up a chance to examine his fae closely. 

He wore a sparkling black top with silver embroidery across it, depicting curling, thorned branches that seemed to shift and wave in an imaginary breeze as Remus’s chest rose and fell. A green, glittering sash crossed his chest, and looking closer, he didn’t recognize it as any fabric he’d ever seen before. 

He noticed something else. Below the fae’s right shoulder, over his heart, was embroidered an insignia, a castle wrapped in thorns and roses, the moon rising above it all. Absently he traced it with his finger, remembering in Remus’s oath, he’d sworn on his crown. He must be a noble, then. He’d never met any nobility before, much less been cuddled by one. He found he rather liked it. 

Well, he liked this one. And Patton, though he didn’t think Patton was royalty. Roman on the other hand, seemed like an ass. Now that he was thinking straight, he was pretty relieved that he’d given his name to Remus, instead of Roman. Remus seemed kind, nice, understanding. How was he more human than any actual human he’d ever met? 

“Morning, Sunshine.” A faint blush raced across his face at being caught staring, realizing he was still tracing the embroidery across Remus’s chest. He cleared his throat and not so subtly pulled his hand away, rubbing his arm. His eyes widened as he heard the familiar swish of fabric against metal. 

He pulled up his sleeve, tracing the pattern of his scales against his skin, the slight redness where they met his flesh, they were a bit softer than usual, but he knew they would harden up soon. Occasionally he lost a scale, it getting caught on a stray branch or something, and they always came back in like that. He ran his hand across them, feeling under his shirt against his chest, the familiar soft chill of the scales bringing tears to his eyes. 

“Oh fuck, you’re crying again, I’m sorry, what did I do?” Damien shook his head, laughing, an actual laugh, that took Remus’s breath away, because it was bright and clear and happy and sounded the most alive that Remus had heard from the human. He found himself grinning as the human lifted his arm, so the scales shimmered in the light, almost glowing. 

Remus tilted his head, looking down at the human’s expression. It was full of wonder and awe and pure, glowing joy, as he laughed once again in delight, tilting his arm back and forth, watching the light reflect against them in small prisms. 

He loved his scales. He’d always, always loved them. Everyone else’s aversion and outright hatred towards them only made him love them more. He loved them recklessly and defiantly, he’d always refused to cover them up or hide them. He’d always found them beautiful, loved the way they felt, the way they shone, the way they were smooth against fabric. He hugged his arm close to him, endlessly running his hand over them, to make sure they were really, truly there. 

“I thought I’d lost them. I mean, I know those ones were back the last time I woke” He gestured to his face, excited enough he knew he was rambling, but didn’t care, “but I wasn’t sure how far the magic would go, I don’t know anything about it.” 

He laughed again, smiling up at Remus, a smile so brilliant it melted Remus instantly, his eyes shone, dimples on his cheeks, he didn’t know he could even fall this hard this fast. But gods, he loved this human. He wanted to make him smile like that every day. He wanted to make sure the only tears he ever shed were ones of joy, he wanted to hear that laughter ringing through the castle walls, he wanted that sleepy tone to be the first thing he woke up to every morning.

He tried to formulate a response, any kind of word or sentence, but found his tongue was tied, silenced by the intensity of his feelings, and all he longed to do was reach out, run his thumb across Damien’s lips, pull him close and-

“Gooood morning!” His thoughts came to a screeching halt as Patton strode into the room, glancing at him with a smug smile and a raised eyebrow, causing Remus to flush then stick his tongue out at him, sending him a bevy of ideas on where, exactly, he could shove his stupid antennae. Patton simply rolled his eyes, coming to lean against the arm of the couch. “I’ve got some breakfast set up if you want any. I figured I’d keep it simple, since you haven’t really eaten in a few days. So, I have some yogurt and I made granola! There’s also berries, if you wanna add any, oh, and walnuts, but I didn’t put any in the granola, cause I wasn’t sure if you were allergic to anything.” Patton was bouncing on the balls of his feet, his wings fluttering behind him anxiously. 

“That sounds really good, actually. Um, thanks.” Damian said, a bit awkwardly, realizing he was still sitting on Remus’s lap. He managed to keep his composure as he slid off of his lap, standing up. 

At least until his legs buckled under him, and then he was in Remus’s arms as the fae held him steady until he regained his footing, his legs barely shaking under his weight now. He looked up to tell Remus he was fine, but he froze as he realized they were mere inches apart, the taller fae’s lips somehow all he could see, the soft exhale of Remus’s breath ruffling his hair. After too long a moment, he stepped back, furiously containing the blush threatening to break across his cheeks. 

“Th-thanks. I’m alright. Just still a little out of it, I suppose.” He said, managing to almost contain the crack in his voice. Remus looked a bit unconvinced, but nodded anyway. 

“You’ll feel better after you eat something. That potion is effective, but it does a number on your energy reserves. You need to build your strength back up.” Patton said gently, flashing him a sympathetic smile. Damien nodded, smiling as he caught a flash of his scales on his hand. 

As they settled around the kitchen, stirring things into their parfaits, which they ended up making in glass drinking cups, because apparently Patton had used all his bowls for “seedling collection”, Damien couldn’t help the smile that endlessly graced his lips as he listened to the two banter and teasingly argue back and forth. He found himself relaxing, interjecting with his own sarcastic commentary, much to the delight of the two fae. 

Every time he spoke, he noticed Remus’s head tilt ever slightly in his direction. His eyes focused on him as if Damien was the only thing in the world, he threw his head back in wild laughter at his instant, witty comebacks. He rather loved that wild, carefree look on Remus. He wondered if he could cause it more often. He wondered what the fae would do if he leapt off the counter he was sitting atop, marched over to him without a word, and crushed their lips together. 

He didn’t notice Patton gripping his chair tightly to keep himself from fluttering up to the ceiling at his excitement, his heart beating fast and loud in his chest. Oh, this was amazing, this was wonderful, this was brilliant! 

He wouldn’t say anything, not yet, anyway. He’d give the two of them time to figure it out, but gods know Remus was an oblivious moron, and Damian didn’t seem much better. He’d step in. Eventually. But he kinda wanted to see how far this would go before he had to intervene and spell out the obvious. 

Pixies were known for the mischievous nature, after all. And oh, this was going to be fun to watch.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus and Damien head back to the castle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have some more fluff! But don't get too comfortable, we've got some angst coming soon :)

“Oh, says the man who caused 13 explosions this month!” Patton shot back, arguing on which of them was the more troublesome. Remus was the obvious choice, but Patton caused mayhem in his own special way. His interest in plants and potion making had caused more than a few disasters. 

“Excuse you, 14. And I meant to do those!” Remus replied, and Patton cocked his head, silently counting on his fingers. 

“greenhouse, the flour storage…. No, that was last month.” Damien laughed at his muttered recounting. 

“Just how many explosions, on average, do you cause?” He asked. Remus shrugged. 

“Depends. A slow month is five.” 

“You’ve only done 13 this month!” Patton interjected, finishing counting. Remus’s eyes glinted, and Patton’s widened as they heard a loud boom in the distance, that shook the floor. 

“14.” Damien nearly fell off the counter, from laughing so hard at the purely offended expression on Patton’s face and the wicked smile on Remus’s as Patton spluttered, whacking his arm. 

“You are insufferable!” Remus grinned. 

“Oh, you flatter me, Pat!” 

Their laughter was cut short by a knock on the door. Patton frowned slightly, shooting a warning glance at Remus, before vanishing to open it. They heard slight arguing from the hall, then Patton returned, with a sheepish looking Roman in tow. 

“Hey. Logan sent me to fetch you because he knows you ‘have an underappreciation for arriving in a timely manner to preplanned, required, events’.” 

Damien had stilled on the counter, frozen as he examined the fae as he hadn’t gotten a chance to earlier. He had light blond hair, that shimmered in the light almost like waves of fire. His eyes were a deep copper that lightened to molten fire. He had a white shirt in the same style as Remus’s, with golden embroidery of the same pattern, the same insignia on his chest. His sash was a deep crimson color, and where Remus’s hair was a wild mess of objects, Roman’s was shorter and tidy, a golden circlet resting across his forehead, amber drops in his ears. 

He could feel Remus coldly glaring at Roman from beside him, and Roman kept his eyes on his feet, shuffling them uncertainly. Roman glanced up, wincing at Remus’s glare and the hesitant fear on the human’s face. 

“I am also very sorry about being completely insensitive and a giant jerk to you. I acted impulsively and rashly without any consideration for the circumstances that brought you here, and I regret my actions.” Roman added, with an awkward cough. 

There was another moment of silence before Remus pushed off where he was leaning against the counter, pausing before Roman, considering. 

“Good enough for me. But I’m not the one whose opinion matters...?” 

“Deceit. Call me Deceit.” Remus raised an eyebrow, but didn’t question the name choice, merely shrugging. “And I suppose I can let it slide, this once. But don’t let it happen again.” He purred, grinning too wide, revealing slightly pointed fangs. Roman took a slight step back in surprise, allowing Damien to slip past him and head towards the door, Remus following with a grin in his wake, bumping his shoulder against Roman. Roman looked towards Patton, who was shaking his head fondly.

“Oh, gods Remus multiplied, didn’t he? I can’t handle two of them.” He groaned, rolling his eyes at Patton’s laugh as he followed his brother and human out the door, mildly worried for his future wellbeing.

“Deceit hmm? That’s an odd choice.” Remus murmured as they walked along the forest path, back towards the castle and the small city surrounding it. Patton lived a bit further out of the way, so he wasn’t constantly bombarded with too many thoughts and feelings. About a ten-minute walk to the edge of the woods, another five minutes across the fields to the castle. Damien shrugged. 

“Everyone back there always thought I was a liar. A bit ironic, when I can taste truth from lies. Figured it was as good a way as any to spite them.” Remus paused, cocking his head, making the decorations in his hair jingle. 

“Taste truth? Is that a human thing or…” He trailed off as Damien shook his head. 

“More of a me being weird thing. When someone tells a lie, it tastes bitter, or sour, some unpleasant taste. A truth is usually sweet, or soft. Half-truths or avoidance taste… strange. A flavor that’s not quite right. That’s part of the reason I became comfortable after your promise. It tasted sweet, like vanilla and cream, pure truth. I have rarely tasted that level of pure sincerity.” He glanced at Remus, who was biting his lip. 

“What else can you do?” He finally asked, curiosity outweighing his concern of overstepping boundaries. 

“Snakes. I can understand them, and they understand me.” 

“What about other reptiles? Can you hear them too?” Damien shrugged. 

“Don’t know. There weren’t any other species in my area. Too cold for most of them. Too cold for me, really, but I didn’t want to move. I got too comfortable, too attached. And then there’s my visual appearance, of course, the scales, the eye, the sharper fangs, the tongue.” Remus hummed in thought, imagining the human’s forked tongue against his face. He shook himself out of those thoughts.

“Cool.” Damien nearly choked on the air at that response. 

“Cool?” He squeaked. Remus smiled softly, nodding his head. 

“I think that’s really cool. The truth lie thing is super useful, and I love snakes, talking to them would be awesome! I wonder if I could convince them to hide in my brother’s shoes and bite him when he put them on!” Damien chuckled at the disgruntled “Hey!” From behind them as Roman trotted to keep up. 

“I doubt they’d do that. They’re rather shy. I’ll be sure to ask, though. Just in case.” He replied with a wink towards Roman, loving the way Remus’s eyes lit up at the prospect of speaking to a snake. 

Damien stopped in his tracks as the crested a hill, the castle appearing before them. It was a grand thing, made of prismatic crystal that shone rainbow colors across the ground below. Twisting spires reached up into the clouds, impossible archways twisting to connect the city walls to the castle battlements, and even from a distance, he could tell they were carved with intricate murals of fae revelries and dragons stretching above mountains. 

“The houses inside mostly belong to others who work in the castle. There are stables, a market, some shops and inns. There’s a lot of coming and going, we’re a lot more spread out and mobile than humans, and a lot faster, so those distances don’t matter as much to us. This is the heart of our land.” Roman explained as Damien’s eyes roved over every inch of it, eyes wide. “Welcome to Everthorn.” Roman trotted ahead, spotting some guards training in the fields, running drills and moving faster than Damien could process. 

“Welcome home. If you want it to be, that is.” Remus fumbled, stopped short by Damien slipping his hand into Remus’s, taking the fae’s breath away and causing his heart to skip a beat as Damien smiled up at him. 

“I would like that, very much.” And with the setting sun shining on his hair, sparkling across his scales, eyes glowing in the light Remus had never been more awestruck in his life. “you should probably lead the way.” Damien murmured, shaking Remus out of his stupor. 

“Right! I’ll give you a tour tomorrow, but we should probably get to dinner, if you’re up for it. Otherwise I can have a room made up for you, if you’d rather rest, I know it’s going to be a little intimidating, probably, being around a bunch of fae and Logan can be a bit intense sometimes, he’s for sure going to ask you like a million questions and he has no sensitivity filter so-“ 

“Remus. I’d rather be wherever you are. I mean, with you. I mean… let’s just go.” Damien stuttered out, that charming blush spreading across his face. Remus felt his own moronic grin growing, something like hope fluttering in his chest, that perhaps, perhaps he wasn’t the only one feeling the way he was. 

“Alright, Sunshine.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan meets Damien, we finally find out what exactly went down with Damien and "Him", Roman continues to try and make things right between him and Damien.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm going to try and keep to a schedule of posting every Monday as I've almost posted all my prewritten chapters. I'll try not to leave you guys hanging too much :)

Logan turned abruptly at the noise of the door opening. He’d been pacing for the past half hour along the dining room, polished shoes clicking across the hardwood floors in a repeated, predictable pattern. Unlike the two princes he had somehow been talked into wrangling. Just thinking about it gave him the start of a migraine, and he found himself pinching the bridge of his nose. 

The most infuriating part was that he loved it. He loved the challenge of getting them to sit down and listen to his briefings, to cooperate with the paperwork, to get them to actually be on time for once in their lives. 

He loved the excitement that came to life on their faces when they came up with a clever idea or solution to a problem the kingdom was facing, when even Logan was forced to admit that he would never have thought of that on his own and the brothers glowed with pride. He took their teasing in good stride after those moments. 

But most of all, the reason he put up with and even, though he would never admit it out loud, loved and cared about the boys was their dedication. Even if they were always late for meetings and loathe to make actual plans, they were always there for the people of the kingdom, always willing to listen to any complaints or concerns, never hesitating to ride out if there was trouble or danger brewing. It worried him to no end, but they refused to simply send out the guard. 

They were fearless and reckless and brave and too kind for their own good. So, someone had to stick around and catch the threats they were too blind to see, do the paperwork they were too busy to attend to, handle matters that were too sensitive for their brashness. 

“Heya Lo. Sorry I’m late…” Remus said sheepishly, poking his head into the room as Logan turned to him, his coal dark eyes instantly snapping to Remus. 

“It is acceptable, given the unusual circumstances. Where is your brother?” Logan asked as Remus entered fully, now that he knew Logan wasn’t going to tear him to shreds for being out of commission for almost five days. His brow rose as Remus looked away sheepishly, muttering something. 

“What?” 

“I lost him outside the gate. It’s not my fault! There were drills happening!” Remus protested before Logan could even open his mouth. Logan sighed, leaning against the back of his chair at the medium, circular table. 

“Fine, it is fine. I will catch up with him later, I suppose. Now, what was this ‘emergency’ you had to attend to? And why are you hovering in the doorway like that?” Logan asked suddenly, realizing the usually unbearably boisterous fae was being unusually polite. 

Surprise flashed across Remus’s face. Roman must not have spilled that he’d brought back a human after all. He frowned. That meant he’d have to apologize later for threatening him so harshly. He must have cooled down before making it back to the castle, and had probably been planning his apology since then, not coming back cause he didn’t want to scare the human further. That was… rather sweet of him.

“Err, right. Okay, Lo, don’t freak out-“ 

“Coming from you means I am extremely concerned already. Is this about your smoke bomb? Because I am already unfortunately acquainted with it.” Remus held back his laugh at the disgruntled expression on Logan’s face, forcing his into a mask of innocence. 

“No, it’s not. It is why I was gone for so long, though.” If you didn’t know Logan, he’d seem as calm as ever. But Remus saw the miniscule tensing of his shoulders, how his pointed ears seemed to stand up just a little straighter, how his eyes dilated ever so slightly, the pinprick of his silver pupils getting slightly larger, as they only did when he was truly interested or extremely focused. 

“Dee?” Remus called softly, and Damien stepped into the room, hands clasped nervously behind his back. They’d stopped to pick out some new clothes from Remus’s wardrobe, to replace his unsalvageable ones from the human realm.

Now he was dressed in dark pants and golden gloves, a black top with silver buttons, a capelet thrown over his shoulders, held closed with silver clasps in the shape of roses. Stepping out of the closet and back into Remus’s full room, he had tugged self-consciously at the gloves. 

“What do you think? Is it a bit too much?” Remus had nearly swooned at how handsome Damien looked in his new outfit, it was practically tailor made for him, the dark fabric making his eyes stand out even more, his scales gleam. 

“It’s perfect, Sunshine.” He’d murmured, too caught up in his own less than austere thoughts to notice the rosy tint to the scales that gave away Damien’s own feelings. 

Now he was repeating that anxious action as he looked at Logan, who was frozen across the table. He had ebony black skin, silver freckles dusting across his cheeks and nose. He noticed curling silver markings peeking out from under the fae’s sleeves, and wondered if they spiraled up his entire arms. They matched the moonlight silver of his long hair, which was pulled back in a pony tail. His eyes were coal black, with a silver iris that expanded over the entire pupil as he stared at Damien. He wore a simple, well-tailored suit, and Damien realized the lines of embroidery on it formed a map of the sky, the stars and constellations. 

“Um. Hello.” He muttered, giving an awkward wave, which seemed to break Logan out of his stupor as the fae strode across the room and stared him up and down with a gaze so intense that it seemed he saw right through Damien. 

“Fascinating.” His gaze came to rest on Damien’s face, and he reached a hand out, before remembering his manners. 

“Apologies. May I?” He asked, pausing in his movement. He noticed how Damien’s eyes flickered to Remus for a moment, who gave a slight nod, before turning back to Logan. 

“Sure.” Logan reached out, tapping his finger against the scales, testing their hardness. He stared into Damien’s golden eye, he circled the human once, one hand tapping against his chin in thought as he came back around. 

“How far do the scales extend? Are they all the same color, or do they vary in size and coloration? How long have you had them? Are they natural, or the effect of some spell or curse? Do you have any magical abilities yourself, and if so, what? How far do those abilities range? Do you have any other reptile like attributes? Are you cold or warm blooded?” Damien blinked at the rapid fire of questions, trying to process all of them, as Remus laughed. 

“I did warn you, Dee. You chose this as your doom.” Damien rolled his eyes, smiling as Remus tugged him to the table, and into Roman’s usual seat, keeping their hands interlocked at Damien’s nervous squeeze. 

“Wait, no, don’t answer any of those yet.” Logan sat down as well, snapping his fingers. Instantly, a dark leather-bound book appeared on the table before him, along with a quill and ink. He flipped through it to a blank page, pen poised over it. He looked up at Damien from over his glasses, expectantly. 

“From my face to my waist, same color and size, since I can remember, natural, talking to snakes and telling truth from lies, forked tongue and slight fangs, and warm blooded, I think, but extremely sensitive to cold.” He finished, taking in a deep breath. Logan was furiously scribbling notes in his book. 

“Are you Fae blooded?” Logan asked, still writing, so only Remus saw Damien wince, looking down at the table. 

“I… don’t know. I was in and out of orphanages all my life. Nobody ever wanted me. Nobody wanted me around them at all. I left as soon as I was old enough to make it on my own.” Logan hmmed, tapping his quill against his chin. 

“it’s possible, would make sense given the signs. Or… I need to do more research on this. I will be in the library if anyone needs anything, or if you decide to pull another ill-advised stunt.” Logan said, vanishing his things once more and staring hard at Remus, who grinned sheepishly.

“Supper?” Logan waved him off as he headed for the door. 

“Irrelevant. I’ll eat later.” 

“Try and go to bed at a decent hour, Lo, I don’t wanna be fetched by a page at one am cause you’re conked out at a desk again!” Remus called down the hall after Logan’s retreating back. The fae waved away his concerns, vanishing around a corner. Remus shook his head fondly. 

“He’ll be up for hours now. He’ll have a stack of books taller than me lined up on a table all open to different pages while he tries to take notes with both hands at once. For someone so smart, he’s quite silly, sometimes.” Remus said, looking back over to where Damien still sat at the table, looking contemplative. He jumped when Remus placed a hand on his shoulder, letting out a huff of air. 

“I… lied. There was… there was someone, once. Who cared, who wanted me around, who wasn’t afraid of me.” Remus was silent, afraid if he even breathed Damien would pull away. 

“What happened?” He asked softly, and Damien closed his eyes, the memories overwhelming. 

“we fought. He had magic, but he was afraid of it, refused to acknowledge it. I was trying to convince him he should tell someone, he should learn to use it, but he just wanted to hide it, bury it, as if that would make it go away.” He could still hear that argument, in his mind. 

“Why don’t you just see? There are plenty of magic users around, tutors, or even a school, why not just use it?” He’d asked, voice raised and frustrated. 

“Because it’s dangerous, and I’ll hurt someone!” He’d shouted back. Damien had crossed his arms. 

“That’s flimsy and you know it. If it’s uncontrolled it’s more likely to just lash out! Surely your parents-“ 

“No! You don’t understand, they’ll freak out!” Damien had raised his brow, getting mad himself. 

“Oh, I don’t understand? Pardon me and my ignorance, I could never understand what it’s like to be different from everyone else and have others look at me with fear.” 

“It’s not the same! You don’t care what the others think cause you were never one of them!” Damien had taken a step back at those words, hurt flashing across his face. 

“Damien. I didn’t mean-“ Damien had let out a harsh laugh. 

“Oh, it’s plenty clear what you meant, Virgil.” He’d snapped, glaring at him coldly. 

“What else do you have buried down there, hmmm? What else have you been thinking about me, but too cowardly to say aloud?” 

“N-nothing!” Damien wrinkled his nose, bitterness washing over him as his eyes flashed. “lie. You’re no better than the rest of them, are you? Well, if that’s how it is, maybe I should let your little secret slip.” Virgil tensed, eyes flashing violet. 

“Fine. You wanna know what I think? I think you’re too proud to admit that you’re afraid and that’s why you flaunt being different. I think you’re too arrogant for your own good. I think some of the stories are true, because these powers didn’t show up until you did!” Virgil spat, and Damien nearly staggered back at the venom in his voice, at the overwhelming taste of hot cinnamon and sugar that flooded his senses. 

“stop.” 

“I think I should never have started coming here, I think you’re bad luck, I think they’re right, and you’re cursed, I think you only care about yourself, and you cling to me so tight because you’re afraid of being alone and that’s why I don’t have any other friends!” Damian’s arms were hugging his stomach, choking on cinnamon spice.

“Stop!” He’d shouted, and Virgil did, their eyes meeting. He’d never seen such cold fury on Virgil’s face before. “you don’t mean that.” He’d whispered. 

“You know that I do. I’m leaving. I won’t be coming back.” With that Virgil had turned and strode out the door, leaving Damien alone, who had sunk to the floor. He’d thought what Virgil had said often enough it shouldn’t hurt so badly, but it did. 

He’d lost his only friend, his only person in the whole wide world who even gave a damn about him. And it was his fault for pushing him so far. 

Still, the cinnamon burned his tongue, and he wondered which part of what Virgil said had been the half truth or lie. 

He wondered if it mattered at all. If he, mattered at all.

“Oh, Sunshine. I’m sorry.” Damien realized at some point in his recounting, he’d started crying, silent tears dripping down his face. 

“I thought he’d come back. I thought he wouldn’t really leave. I thought… when they grabbed me, I kept thinking at least he would come for me, at least he would help me, at the very least he would break me out and tell me to run once they’d finished with me. But he didn’t. He didn’t even do that. Wasn’t even going to stop them from killing me.” He whispered. “I should have known better. I’ve been on my own my whole life. I should have known better than to hope for anything else.” 

“That’s not true. You don’t have to be alone. You don’t deserve to be alone.” Remus murmured, wiping away Damien’s tears, tilting his chin up so their eyes met. “You deserve all the love in the world, Sunshine. Anyone who can’t see that is a fool.” Damien leaned forwards, resting his forehead against Remus’s chest, letting the fae stroke his hair, murmur softly to him until the memories faded away. 

“Logan! So sorry I’m late, I had some very important business to attend to and-“ 

“He’s already gone, Ro, you’re in the clear. He’s off in the library.” Remus interrupted Roman’s proclamation as he dramatically entered the room. Instantly his shoulders slumped in relief as he fell into Logan’s empty seat. 

“Whoo, that means I am off the hook. Oh. Is he, are you, okay?” Roman asked, realizing Deceit was pressed against Remus, sniffling softly. 

“no. not really.” Was the muttered reply. Roman frowned, teasing his sash between his fingers. 

“Oh. Is there… anything I can do? To help?” Roman asked hesitantly, not sure if the human even wanted him around, after he’d scared him. Which he felt immensely guilty about, now. Not one of his prouder moments, terrorizing an innocent person for his own amusement. He hated himself a little for it, for letting his instincts take over like that, and he desperately wanted to make it up to him. 

“Do you know how to make hot chocolate?” He asked. Roman smiled softly. 

“I do. Patton says mine is his favorite. I have perfected the marshmellow to beverage ratio. Any other requests, my fine human fellow?” Deceit peeked open an eye, looking at him carefully for a moment. Roman held his breath, getting the sense that the human was looking into him, into his soul. After a moment he closed his eyes again. 

“no cinnamon. Please.” Came the quiet reply. Roman nodded, gently ruffling the human’s hair on his way out. 

“coming right up deary. I’ll bring it to your room, Ree?” he asked, paused in the doorway. 

“Sounds like a plan, bro.” Remus replied. Roman could read the thanks in his expression, and minutely shook his head. Remus didn’t owe him anything. He was just trying to make up for his own mistakes. Remus rolled his eyes, but Roman could feel the relief radiating off his brother, that he was trying to make amends. That he was helping to protect Damien, and Roman nodded once, hesitantly smiling back before he slipped out of the room and down the hall. He had some first class hot chocolate to make, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get excited folks, next chapter is Virgil time.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Virgil time, folks, buckle up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I know I said I'd update Mondays, but I just couldn't wait to put out this chapter. I will be posting another one on Monday, so you won't have to wait too long. Yes, it will be more Virgil.
> 
> Sorry not sorry for this chapter ;)

He was furious. He was blindingly, deafeningly furious. He could feel the anger and pain raging inside him, an unstoppable force, burrowing into his veins and under his skin until all he could feel was this building force inside him, and for once, he had no desire to hold it back.

“Virgil, please. Calm down.” The village elder asked, begged, really. And oh gods, he should be begging. He should be falling to his knees and pleading, kissing his boots and groveling for mercy, he would be, if he could see the storm raging inside Virgil. Not that it would do him any good. 

“why? Why should I CALM DOWN?!” He shouted, his voice echoing strangely, deepening and twisting with each word. 

“It was in the best interest of the village. You must see that.” His vision was practically whited out, at this level of fury. His blood was screaming, his pulse was pounding, his chest felt like it might explode at any given second. He wanted to scream, to rip down the sky, to break everything within sight, to burn the whole world until nothing remained.

“no. no it wasn’t. It was in the best interest of you. It was in the interest of superstitious fear. It was in the interest of you and your tyranny.” He growled, stepping forwards, the darkness deepening around his feet, his shadow seeming to elongate, starting to move on its own. 

“That’s a little extreme, isn’t it?” His fists clenched. 

“I don’t know. Torturing and killing an innocent person seems a little ‘extreme’ to me.” It was building, any moment now, he’d explode, any second now, it would be too much, in a moment, he wouldn’t be able to contain the magic building inside him. 

And for once, he didn’t want to. For once, he let his face twist in empty satisfaction. For once, he raised his arms, letting out a dark chuckle, letting his laughter unspool like his mind, letting them see exactly what he’d always tried to hide. 

“He was innocent. He hadn’t done anything. So, you want extreme? How. About. This.” His voice hissed and his eyes glowed as the world was consumed in darkness. 

He heard screams, heard his shadows tearing everything apart, distantly realized he was the one screaming, a piercing, ear shattering sound. Dimly he smelled smoke, saw flames leaping from house to house, saw people scattering into the woods in terror. He turned back to the leader, who was cowering in fear. 

“You did this. You did this the moment you laid a single hand on him. The moment you-“ His voice cracked, as shadows endlessly unspooled from his hands, as they covered his vision, as the leader faded from view, as he fell to the ground, shaking, fire raging around him. He didn’t feel it. His shadows coiled around him, cushioning and protecting him, chasing away any flames that came too near. 

For once, he wasn’t afraid of the dark. For once he welcomed it, because it meant he didn’t have to feel the heart break ripping him apart, hollowing him from the inside out, replacing his fury with cold, empty guilt and regret. 

Outside this pocket of safety, the village burned, fire raging as his shadows whipped up embers, spreading and sparking them. They tore beams from roofs, smashed through glass panes, wreaking havoc and spreading, splitting, terrorizing and chasing until the entire hollow was covered in darkness, until everyone had fled, until it was all destroyed. The morning light would banish them back into the shadows, but for tonight, tonight they raged with all the grief of their master. 

He was cold, when he woke. He was lying on the hard earth, sore from sleeping curled into a ball. For a moment he was confused as to why the sun was shining into his eyes, why he could smell smoke, why it was so quiet. 

Then he remembered. And he wished it had all been a dream, he wished he didn’t have to feel, he wished he could go back in time and fix things. 

He let out a sob, curling into a tighter ball, choking on the gasps that tore at his throat, the sobs that ripped at his lungs, the agony that filled his chest and tore him apart, the sorrow that drowned him in grief and guilt and pain. 

He should have been there. He should have stopped this. He shouldn’t have left, he should have known he’d been the only buffer between this village of idiots and Damien. 

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m sorrysorrysorry” he choked out, tearing at his hair. “I didn’t mean any of what I said, I was stupid and mad and you were right, dammit, you’re always right and always looking out for me and you deserved so much fucking better than this.” He couldn’t even get words out anymore as he squeezed his eyes shut, endless tears falling down his face as he thought of Damien, scared and alone, trapped and bound in that small cell.

He’d heard some of what they’d done. He’d overheard some conversations on his way through the village when he returned, heard them recounting the events to their children, speaking with pride. He remembered one of the men, holding up a glinting scale, talking about how the demon had fought back. That was what had pushed him over the edge, cut through his frantic denial and made him storm into the leader’s house, demanding he answer for his actions. 

He hadn’t meant to be gone for so long. He’d been mad, he’d needed to cool off, so he packed a bag and headed to his secret spot in the woods, a small treehouse he’d made years ago, for when he needed to be alone, or his magic was threatening to explode and he needed to let it out far away from prying eyes. It took a day to get to. 

He’d hiked there the morning after the fight. He’d spent the few daylight hours pacing and arguing with himself, turning over his words in his head, wincing and cringing at each and every one, at the blows he’d dealt, at the coldness he’d spoken with. How could he have said that? How could he have done that to Damien, who had only ever wanted the best for him? He needed to go back. He needed to go and apologize right now, he needed to make it right. 

But night was already falling, and it was dangerous to travel at night, especially alone. It was easy to get lost, and wild creatures roved more brashly. He’d have to wait until morning. 

All his worrying had tired him out, and despite his intentions, he woke late, realizing it was already noon. He’d grabbed his pack and hurried back as quickly as possible, making it by nightfall. 

He’d flown into Damien’s house without bothering to knock, apologies already pouring from his mouth, because he was an idiot, he was such an idiot to say those things. But he wasn’t there. 

It was odd. Especially with it getting colder, his house was usually warm with a blazing fire at night, and it didn’t look like it had been lit recently. He bit his lip, uneasy, before heading back towards the village, hoping Damien had just gone off on his own to cool off. 

Of course, he’d been wrong. Of course, Damien hadn’t gone anywhere, at least by choice. 

Two days. Two days and his best friend had been tortured to death. Two days and he hadn’t been there to stop it. Two days Damien was locked up, probably thinking himself abandoned, probably hoping every moment to hear Virgil’s voice. Two days thinking Virgil had abandoned him, left him to this fate, agreed that he was a monster, agreed that he deserved torture, agreed with condemning him to death. 

That’s what he’d said, hadn’t he? That he’d be better off without Damien, that he never wanted to see him again? Well, the universe had granted his wish. 

He laughed, a harsh, broken sound, and he found once he started, he couldn’t stop. He was laughing and rocking and crying and clawing at his arms, because he deserved this pain, he deserved to suffer, he deserved to sit here and rot. 

Gods, it hurt. It hurt worse than the time he fell from the sycamore and broke his arm, it hurt more than the time he romped through a field of stinging nettles, it hurt more than the first time his magic exploded out of him, ripping uncontrolled from his soul, terrifying him out of his mind. 

It ached and burned and froze and cleaved him in two with every breath, the chant of my fault, my fault, my fault, endlessly echoing, wracking his body with a new wave of sobs each time, until, finally, they died down into sniffles, leaving him shivering and cold and bone numbingly tired. He let his eyes close and his mind drift. He didn’t have the motivation to do anything else, everything he’d ever loved was gone and it was his fault.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey remember how yall wanted to burn down the village? Well, tadaaaa!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton finds something unexpected and Roman and Remus have a talk.

Patton hummed as he fluttered through the autumn woods. There was something peaceful, about the mortal woods. It was less busy, not humming with magical energy. The breeze was just breeze, and not air spirits playing. The crackling of leaves was from squirrels foraging, the bird chirps and calls were sparrows and song birds. 

And while the fae realm had a wide variety of herbs and plants with magical properties, there were still some human plants that he just couldn’t get to grow in his green house, probably sensitive to the magic in the air. Therefore, regular foraging trips were necessary. He had to restock after caring for Dee, they used up a lot of his healing salve, and those potions took forever to brew. He’d only made three last time to begin with, and he’d rather have a surplus than not enough. 

Unfortunately, Patton was easily distracted. He found himself playing tag with a playful bunch of chipmunks, babysitting twin fauns while their mother foraged, then helping a blind old hedgehog find its way back to its burrow. He realized he’d completely lost track of where he was, and wandered a bit before finally recognizing a patch of plants as the ones he was looking for. Odd, he thought these didn’t grow wild. He must have wandered farther than he thought, if he’d reached the outskirts of a village. 

He knew he should turn around, that humans didn’t take kindly to fae, but they were so interesting! He could make a glamour, quick, it’d be a bit sloppy, but it would hold enough no one would notice. If they did anyway, he could always fly away. He doubted there were any mages near with the capability to stop him. He’d just take a peek, if it wasn’t safe, he’d leave right away. Probably. 

A few feet further and he neared the thinning of the trees. He gasped, suddenly doubling over, nearly getting knocked off his feet by the intensity of the emotions piercing through him unlike anything he’d ever felt. 

It was pure, endless, agony and loss and despair. It was a void of everything and anything, leaving only darkness and emptiness in its wake. 

With effort, Patton pushed the emotions aside, taking several deep breaths as he separated his own feelings from those of whoever was suffering. It was hard, with the intensity, but necessary. He took a final steadying breath as he stood straight again, determination filling his heart.

He didn’t really care that he’d never applied his glamour, whoever was hurting out there couldn’t wait that long. 

He buzzed through the woods to the edge, where the clearing started and the village began. Or, what had once been a village. Now, it was ruins of charred wood and dark ash. He noticed what looked like claw marks on some of the collapsed beams, scattered and broken pieces of glass, it looked like something had systematically destroyed and torn apart everything in sight. He noticed strange, black marks on the ground, not caused by fire, it wasn’t scorched. It didn’t leave any residue against his fingers, either, but he could feel the slight tingle of magic. 

Fluttering higher, he realized the dark marks all branched out from a single point, a dark, void of color on the ground, where all the destruction seemed to blow out from. And in the center of it all was the roiling, burning emotions that were nearly overwhelming as he landed on the ground near the source.

It was a boy. A dark haired, pale skinned, boy, curled in a ball, shaking and shivering, cheeks tear streaked and eyes puffy, dark bags under his eyes giving him the appearance of a raccoon. He realized the boy was muttering something over and over, under his breath. 

“sorrysorrysorrysorry” Patton’s heart broke a little bit. 

“It’s ok, it’s ok, kiddo.” He murmured, kneeling down, trying to soothe some of the hurt emanating from him. 

“No, is my fault, my fault, my fault. I didn’t mean it, I didn’t-“ The boy cut himself off with a choked sob, and Patton realized that he had clawed red lines into his skin, that even now, he was pulling at his hair. 

“Hey, no, none of that. I’m sure you didn’t mean to do this. I’m sure it was an accident.” Patton replied, looking around at the remains of the village, biting his lip. It looked bad, but he didn’t see any remains, so presumably everyone had gotten out ok. 

“We can find them, ok? We’ll get you all caught up with your people.” He was surprised when the boy opened his eyes, shaking his head and hugging his knees to his chest. 

“No. I don’t have a people. They’re not my family. This was not an accident. They earned this.” He hissed, the anger vanishing into pain as quickly as it came, acid eating his stomach, fire in his lungs that made every breath a challenge. 

“Ok. That’s ok. Can you breathe with me? Listen to my breaths.” Patton asked, carefully reaching out and prying the human’s hands away from where they dug into his arms, rubbing circles against his knuckles. 

He got flashes then, flashes of fire and living shadows and smoke and darkness and rage, rage so hot it burned his skin and sadness so endless he could drown in it. He saw embracing darkness, saw it spread and cover and devour, saw burning violet eyes through the dark. 

“I should have been here. I should have, I should… it’s my fault, they killed him, and it’s my fault!” The human sobbed, curling into himself, and Patton’s wings fluttered, startled. 

“Your… friend. They… hurt him?” Patton asked, as gently as he could, he wanted to know how to help, but even the human’s thoughts weren’t coherent enough to understand. The human let out a harsh laugh. 

“they did more than that. They bragged about it, like they were heroes, like he was some kind of trophy, they tore him apart, like they weren’t the monsters, and the last things I said to him-“ Patton winced at the flood of remorse, so powerful and potent it nearly wiped him out. 

Before he could speak, try and ask what exactly happened so he could understand, the human slumped forwards into his arms, exhausted and broken. He was cold, though not dangerously so, but whatever magic he’d used to wreak this destruction had taken everything the human had. The residue was weak enough it had to be at least two days ago, and he doubted the human had eaten or drank anything since then. The poor thing was absolutely devastated.

Patton gently tucked the human’s hair back behind his ear, biting his lip before making a decision he hoped he wouldn’t regret. With the human in his arms, he vanished back into the fae realm, appearing in his living room. He only hoped the human wouldn’t be too distressed when he woke at being in the fae realm. Patton would take him back in an instant, if he wanted, but he couldn’t have left him alone there. Not like that. 

****************************************************************************************

Roman peeked his head into Remus’s room, three hot chocolates balanced on a tray. He wasn’t entirely sure that they hadn’t fallen asleep, and he didn’t want to wake them if they were. But Remus’s emerald eyes met his through the dim room, lit by only a few candles, and he tipped his head, beckoning Roman forwards. 

Roman set the tray on the small table beside the bed, passing one mug to Remus, confused for a moment, before realizing Dee was buried under a mound of blankets, curled against Remus’s side, only a few tufts of hair sticking out from the covers giving him away. Roman chuckled softly, taking his own cup of coco and blowing on it gently.

They sat in companionable silence for a few moments, before Roman steeled himself, setting his cup aside. 

“Ree… I know I already apologized, but I want to be sure you know that I mean it. I should never have treated him as I did. I should have realized that he was… special to you. Even if he weren’t, my actions were inexcusable. I…” He shook his head. “I don’t want to be that kind of fae. I won’t. Anything you need, anything he needs, I will do everything I can to help.” He swore. He looked up as Remus gently squeezed his shoulder. 

“You’re not that kind of fae, Roman. You never have been, and you never will be. And if you ever start slipping that way, which you won’t, I’ll be there to knock some sense back into you.” Roman smiled smally. 

“Like you did at Patton’s? What was the phrasing, you’d rip out my eensy weensy brain?” Remus coughed as he took a sip of cocoa, trying to hide his embarrassment. 

“I’ve been meaning to apologize, as well. I went a little overboard, there. And I… thank you. For not telling everyone.” 

“Of course, Ree. You’re my little brother after all. I just want you to be happy. And I haven’t seen you as happy as he makes you in years.” Roman answered softly. 

“He went through so much, Ro. I can’t ask for anything. I can’t ask him for that. It’s up to him.” Remus murmured, running a hand through his hair. 

“I don’t think you’ll have to wait long, Ree. It’s written all over both of your faces.” Roman paused, frowning slightly. “I’ll talk to the guard, inform them of Dee’s presence and status. They’ll keep an eye on him, if he’s out and about by himself. Keep anyone from giving him trouble. I think most people in the town will take kindly to him, once they hear the circumstances. It’s solitaries we need to worry about, the comers and goers who don’t respect the rules as easily as the residents.” Remus nodded in agreement. 

“Thanks. I know the guard listens to you more than me.” Roman grinned. 

“They’d take you more seriously if you weren’t the reason they got deployed half of the time.” Remus rolled his eyes. They paused as they heard a small groan from under the covers, and Dee’s head popped up from underneath, blinking sleepily.   
“You cozy down there?” Roman asked, laughing as Dee stuck his tongue out at him, wriggling into a sitting position. 

“Cocoa?” He asked, making grabby hands at Roman. 

“Here you go, Sunshine.” Remus passed Damien his mug, who let out a sigh and took a contented sip, feeling the warmth seep into his bones. It tasted just right, smooth chocolate and creamy froth. It was a rare treat, back there, and one of the few things that had made him truly warm. 

“Like it?” Roman asked, far more nervous than he should be. 

“It’s perfect. Thanks, Roman. You’re not a jerk, after all.” He murmured, eyes still closed. He heard Remus’s snort and Roman’s quiet laugh. 

“Alright, alright, that’s fair. I deserved that.” Damien heard the noise of Roman getting to his feet, and he passed his now empty mug to him. “I’ll see you two in the morning. Sleep well.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks as always for reading! The response to this story has been amazing, and y'all are the best!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus and Damien have a day out, interrupted by an unexpected threat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starts fluffy, gets worrying.

“Remus, you’ve got to stop feeding me. I’m going to literally explode!” Damien exclaimed, around a mouthful of the most delicious bread he’d ever had in his life. They’d been exploring the village and market all day, and Remus insisted they stop at just about every booth selling food for samples. 

They’d also visited just about every stall in the market, examining fabrics that were lighter and softer than anything Damien had ever seen, weapons that shone with enchantment, the sellers praising their wares and the abilities bestowed upon them, armors made of hydra scales and capes of cockatrice feathers, it was colorful and bright and amazing. 

Remus had let Damien take the lead, following as he meandered from shop to shop, offering background information and trivial facts about each place, each stall, each owner, exchanging his own small talk with the sellers. He was a common enough sight in the market that his presence wasn’t a surprise to anyone. A few people raised eyebrows at the human with him, upon noticing the scales on his face, but no one said an untoward word towards him, and Remus felt himself swelling with pride at his people, relaxing ever so slightly. 

Roman was right, it wasn’t the residents they would have to be careful about, they loved their princes, despite the mayhem that they often caused, and were loyal to a fault. It was visiting fae they’d have to be careful of, as news spread. Other fae nobles, to be precise. There weren’t many with the power or ambition necessary to try and steal the crown, but there were some. 

Still, the delight and curiosity in Damien’s face had him smiling like an idiot all day, answering every question his human asked, about enchantments, about the mythical creatures some of the items were made from, eventually quizzing him on which were even real or not when they stopped to rest by the fountain at noon. 

They’d been at it all day, laughing and bantering and joking, and Remus had never felt happier to be showing someone around the city for the first time. 

“I can’t have you being underfed! You’re so skinny to start with!” Remus protested, shoving more bread in Damien’s mouth when he opened it to argue back. Damien let out an indignant hmph, but Remus could see he was having fun, his shoulders relaxed and his eyes sparkling in the late afternoon light. 

“You sound just like-“ Damien cut himself off, a flash of pain flitting across his face, before he cleared his throat and shook his head. “Do you have any more of those chocolates from earlier?” Damien asked instead. 

“Of course I got extras, they’re your favorite!” Remus replied, pulling the small pack of chocolate candies out of his pocket. Thankfully, they were enchanted not to melt, or they’d be a sticky, gooey mess by now. 

“How do you know they’re my favorite? Maybe my favorite was that maple muffin we had first thing this morning.” Damien replied impetuously. Remus scoffed. 

“Please, you hated that muffin. Your nose got all scrunched and you drank like a full gallon of water to wash out the taste. When you like something, your eyes get all wide and surprised and you chew it slowly and savor it like it’s the first food you’ve eaten in years! That’s what you did with the hot cocoa last night. And the lemon drops, and the candied walnuts, and the sweet rolls. But with the chocolate you closed your eyes and hummed, you only do that when something is your favorite.” He finished, realizing it might be a little creepy that he was watching Damien eat so intently, but before he could stutter out an explanation or apology, Damien let out a little chuckle. 

“I have quite the sweet tooth, don’t I? Alright, yes, the chocolates are my favorite. And you have to admit, that muffin was simply awful. I think I still have oats stuck in my teeth.” He replied, leaning against Remus, who popped one of the chocolates into Damian’s mouth. 

“It wasn’t that terrible.” He protested, feeling Damien doing his little purr again. 

“Perhaps to a horse, it isn’t.” Remus laughed, wrapping an arm around Damien’s shoulders. 

“Now you’re just being mean, Dee.” 

“Or am I being honest?” He replied. 

“Shut up and eat the chocolate, Sunshine.” Remus answered, shoving another one into Damien’s mouth, smiling as he was rewarded with more of Damien’s happy purr as the human completely relaxed into him, soaking in the warm sunshine that filled him to the brim with warmth. He’d never been warm this often back there, only in the peak of summer did he ever get this warm. 

“Remus!” Damien’s eyes flew open as the clatter of hooves on cobblestone cut through his thoughts. Roman pulled hard on the reins, horse coming to a hard stop in front of the fountain where they sat, a small contingent of guards behind him. He realized Roman was wearing light silver armor, sword strapped to his waist, bow and quiver across his back. 

“What is it?” Remus asked, straightening up, knowing it must be serious, if Roman was actually taking guards with him. 

“Dragon landed in Quill’s orchard. It’s tearing everything up, and set the house on fire. It doesn’t seem to be leaving, either.” Remus’s eyes darkened and he immediately stood. 

“Let’s go.” Roman nodded. 

“I brought Freya for you.” Remus smiled as one of the soldiers led forward his horse, a Friesian beauty, coat black and silky, hair carefully kept combed. He took the reins and stroked her nose, laughing as she huffed impatiently in his face, dancing from foot to foot. 

“We’re going, you silly filly.” He booped her nose, chuckling as she let out an offended huff. He was about to mount up, surprised as Damien gripped his wrist. 

“I’m coming with.” Instantly Remus shook his head. 

“No. Not a chance.” 

“If you’re going, I’m going.” 

“It’s a dragon, Dee, it’s not safe. I promised I’d keep you safe.” 

“And I’ll be safe with you. Now let’s go.” Damien replied, voice brooking no argument. Remus looked to Roman for support, but he just shrugged then looked elsewhere. With a sigh, he mounted up, helping Damien get on behind him. 

“Fine. But don’t do anything stupid.” He muttered, flicking the reins to spur Freya onwards, taking a bit of glee in Damien’s surprised yelp, flushing as Damien’s arms wrapped tightly around his middle, keeping him steady.

They heard it before they saw it. An ear piercing, earth shattering sound. It was a mix between a screech and a howl, like nothing Damien had ever heard, and it sent a shiver down his spine. 

They came thundering down between the trees, heading towards the noise. At the edge of the orchard they came to a stop, assessing the situation. 

A dragon. An actual, giant, dragon. It was easily the length of twelve horses, and on all fours, its neck reared higher than the trees. Damien had no doubt if its wings were stretched out, they would be several yards long. 

Its scales ranged from deep indigo to crystal icy blue, sparkling so bright against the sun it was hard to look at. It had spikes along its spine, ranging from its head to its tail, its claws tearing at the earth, its tail whipping back and forth. As Damien watched, it lifted its head in a screaming roar, blue tinged fire lighting the sky as a warning, as it growled at their little group. 

Roman and Remus were consulting, giving orders to the guard, strategizing. Dimly, Damien was aware of this. But his gaze was drawn to the dragon. He couldn’t look away. 

It was acting aggressive, yes, but it didn’t mean it. It was… afraid. He could tell. The way its claws dug at the ground, like a cat kneading, was a sign of distress. The way it blew fire towards the sky, but not at anyone or anything. It was in a defensive posture, it had its wings tight against its back, teeth bared and head low, protecting its neck and belly as it pressed itself low against the ground, its growl a rumble he could feel. He caught a glimpse of its eyes, silver and steely, and inhaled sharply. They were intelligent, smart, thinking, eyes. Why didn’t anyone else see it? It was warning them to stay back, stay away, why weren’t they listening? 

He bit his lip, looking over at the soldiers already moving into position to surround the dragon, who was getting more and more distressed by the moment as they started encroaching. 

Remus had his Morningstar drawn, coming in from one side, while Roman came from the other. He could tell the dragon was readying fire, could read it in the way its shoulders tensed and its neck tightened. It was looking towards Roman, who was distracted by one of his soldiers asking a question. Any moment now, it would shoot fire, Roman wasn’t watching, wasn’t ready, couldn’t draw his shield in time, he had to move, now!

Without thinking he spurred Freya forwards, barely keeping a grip on her, watching the dragon’s throat begin to glow. Two seconds. 

He was before Roman, he didn’t have time to stop, he tumbled off of Freya, rolling several times, closer to the dragon than Roman was, good. One second. 

He heard Remus shout furiously, heard Roman start to run forwards. He managed to get to his feet, feeling bruised all over. 

“WAIT!” He shouted, but it was too late, the dragon couldn’t stop the fire now. 

Zero.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm being a jerk and leaving you on a cliffhanger, sorry!
> 
> As always, thanks for reading, liking, commenting, it means the world to me that anyone actually cares to read what I'm writing.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> :)

Memories. A soft voice, singing a lullabye, one he could almost put words to. Wings beating against air, sparkling like gems against the sky, darkness and warmth, surrounded by something large, something scaly, but it felt safe, the humming croon surrounding him once again. It was comforting and calm and warm and home.

Then it was gone and he was gasping, almost falling to his knees, but something caught him. He was shaking, those almost memories still filling his mind, and he distantly realized he should be scorched to a crisp right now.

But the dragon fire hadn’t felt hot, or burning, or painful, not like the villager’s fire, not like their brands that burned into his skin. It had been warm, a soothing, enveloping warmth, that filled him with strange contentment. 

He blinked a few times, trying to orient himself, realizing the dragon had caught him on his snout, was gently keeping him upright, and they were now eye to eye. 

“Well. Let’s not do that again, shall we?” He asked dryly, clearing his throat, the dragon huffing in response. 

“You shouldn’t jump in front of fire, hatchling.” The dragon replied disaprovingly, voice surprisingly sibilant, deep and tinged with a hint of melody. 

“Well, I couldn’t exactly have you set fire to my protector.” The dragon shuffled his wings, his version of a frown. 

“Where are your parents, hatchling? How have these fae come to keep you?” He snarled. Damien heard the sound of swords being drawn behind him. He turned around and glared. 

“Stop that.” He snapped, turning back to the dragon. “They’re not my keepers. I’m with them of my own free will. And I don’t… know. I don’t have any memories of them.” Damien shook off the thoughts, straightening to stand on his own, stroking the dragon’s nose. He heard it make a low rumble, an echo of his own purring sound. 

“Now. Let me see that wing.” Instantly the dragon recoiled, hissing, tail lashing the ground. Damien raised a brow at him. 

“They won’t hurt you. They thought you were going to attack their friend. They didn’t understand you crashed because you were hurt. Now, stretch it out, so we can fix it, before the tear becomes permanent.” He ordered, the dragon snuffed, something about hatchlings respecting their elders, but did as he was told. 

The rip in his membrane stretched from near the base of his wing to its outer edge, barely oozing any blood anymore. Damien let out a low whistle. No wonder he’d crashed, that wing couldn’t hold any air in that state. 

“Ok. I’m going to go talk to them, and get them to calm down and explain what’s going on. We’ll get a healer out here to tend to that, then everyone can be on their way. Is that acceptable?” He asked, meeting the dragon’s ageless eyes, the weight of his scrutiny weighing Damien down, until the dragon blinked, laying his head on the ground on top of his paws, curling his tail around himself as he let out a snort of smokey air. 

“Yes. I don’t want a fight.” The dragon mumbled, keeping his voice down for the benefit of the fae. 

“Neither do they. You get some rest. I won’t be going far, if you need anything.” The dragon closed his eyes, humming in agreement. 

Damien let out a soft sigh as he turned away from the dragon, only half unsurprised he hadn’t gotten eaten or singed to ashes. But something in him had recognized the dragon, had innately understood its body language, its social cues. He’d known it didn’t really mean any harm. 

He let out a yelp as he was tackled to the ground, recognizing the form of Remus atop him a second before the fae crushed their lips together. He froze, in surprise, in wonderment, in awe, thinking maybe he had died after all, and this was just heaven, then Remus pulled back. 

“Don’t you EVER fucking do that again, don’t you dare scare me like that, don’t you DARE-“ Remus broke off, shaking him slightly to emphasize his point, and Damien realized his was crying, hot tears streaming down his face, a desperate, terrified look in his eyes. 

“You ran into DRAGON FIRE you IDIOT! WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL WERE YOU THINKING!?” He screamed, lightly pounding on Damien’s chest, glaring into his eyes, furious and desperate.

“It would have hit Roman.” He answered weakly. Remus barked out an incredulous laugh. 

“oh, oh that explains everything, yes, the human runs into fire to save the fae with MAGIC!” Damien felt his own anger rising, and shoved Remus off from on top of him, pushing himself to his feet. 

“Well at least I tried talking to him! He was telling you he didn’t want a fight, why didn’t you listen!? Why didn’t you just talk to him like a normal person!?” 

“BECAUSE NORMAL PEOPLE DON’T SPEAK DRAGON!” Remus screamed, freezing Damien on the spot, mind shorting out. 

“w-what? I just… I thought… you couldn’t hear him?” He whispered, arms wrapping around himself. Remus softened, getting to his feet, placing his hands on Damian’s shoulders. 

“no. I didn’t know they spoke. All I heard was growls and noises that didn’t mean anything. You were making the same noises back. I didn’t understand any of it. I’m not immune to dragon fire. I-“ he cut off, choked up as he looked away. 

He’d seen Freya charging across the field, thought it odd, he could usually leave her untied and she’d just wait for him. Then he realized Damien had never dismounted. He’d screamed as he saw Damien tumble to the ground, standing before the dragon. He’d started charging forwards, desperately realizing the dragon was about to spit flame, but before he could take a step he was blinded by searing brilliance and angry heat. 

He’d screamed in furious, wounded, agony, because when he opened his eyes, Damien would be gone, nothing but a pile of ash, when he opened his eyes it would all be over, these few days of bliss torn away. He’d failed, he hadn’t kept his promise, hadn’t kept him safe, and now Damien was gone.

Instead, he’d heard awed gasps, soft whispers, and despite himself, he’d blinked away the white spots clouding his vision. Then he’d cried in relief. 

Damien was standing there, unhurt, not a single hair out of place, not a single part of him singed, if anything he had an aura of light around him, the dragon holding him up. 

He’d wanted to charge forwards, to rip Damien away, to shield him in his arms, to keep this from going any farther. But then his men started drawing swords, and Damien turned around, eyes glowing as he snapped at them to calm down. After several moments of soft noises from those two, Remus held his breath as Damien turned his back on the dragon, walking calmly away, the dragon curling up and settling his head on the ground, closing his eyes. 

“Remus.” He felt Damien’s hand gently cupping his cheek, turning his head to face him, earnest golden eyes meeting his swirling greens. “I’m ok.” Remus let out a wet laugh, shaking his head. 

“You didn’t know you would be, you couldn’t have known you would be. And I didn’t get enough time, it wasn’t enough time with you and you were gone.” He closed his eyes against the tears, letting Damien pull him close, cradle his head, wrap an arm around his waist. 

“I love you, Remus.” He murmured, making Remus’s heart stop for a moment, making time freeze, making his breath catch in his throat. Damien loved him. Damien had said he loved him. “And I promise, you can’t get rid of me that easily.” Remus chuckled softly, pulling back, only to press his lips against Damien’s once more, soft and sweetly this time. 

“Sunshine, my Sunshine, I will hold you to that.” Remus whispered, finally pulling away, smile still a tad shaky, though it reached his eyes, which glowed with joy. “Now, what does your dragon friend need?” Remus asked, glancing back over at the hulking figure, who was watching him intently, eyes slightly narrowed. Remus waved nervously. 

“A healer. His wing is torn. He crashed here. As soon as he’s mended, he’ll be on his way.” Remus nodded, turning away, giving orders to the soldiers, whom he also ordered dispersed back to the castle, to help ease the dragon’s fears. Soon enough, a healer arrived, and Damien led him over to the wing, showing him the tear and assuring the dragon that he was safe. 

Lastly, Remus turned to the dragon, approaching slowly, hand in hand with Damien, trying not to show his fear at being so close, at being defenseless in the face of a dragon. They came to a stop before his snout, where Remus awkwardly cleared his throat. 

“Hello, Mr. Dragon, Sir.” Remus started. Damien poorly disguised his laugh as a cough, earning a sharp glance from Remus, which only made him laugh harder. “I wanted to apologize for our hasty assumptions and consequent actions. I wish you well on your journey, and if you stop by here again, you will be welcomed, and not met with any threats to your safety.” Remus bowed his head slightly, feeling the dragon shift to look at Damien. 

“You’ve trained your mate well. You’re a curious kind, halfling. Perhaps we’ll meet again.” The dragon stood, inclining his head in a bow, before flapping his wings once, twice, three times, and he was airborne, spiraling upwards into the sky, vanishing into the clouds. 

Remus looked at Damien’s face, noticing the redness tinting his ears. But there was a frown on his face, he looked distant, as he stared after the dragon, absently rubbing at his scales. 

“Hey. You ok? What did he say?” Remus asked, startling Damien, who just shook his head. 

“I… I need some time. Some… space. Can we go home?” Remus wanted to press further, but something on Damien’s face stopped him. He said he needed space. He’d give him the world, he could give him some space. 

“Of course, Sunshine. Just… I’m here. Whenever you’re ready.” Remus replied, squeazing Remus’s hand once, before whistling for Freya, taking them both back to the castle, warmed at the thought that Remus had called it home. That he wrapped his arms tightly around his waist, and rested his head on Remus’s shoulder as they rode, assuring Remus that Damien knew he meant it, that he would come to him when he was ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See, everyone's fine, folks! And, just a lil hint for the future, only three or so chapters until some old friends meet again :)


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damien has an existential crisis and Logan manages to help by being a nerd

Logan tapped his fingers on the table, sighing as he ran a hand through his hair. The princes were late. Again, although he was willing to let it slide today, as he’d heard of the dragon in the field. Then Roman practically kicked down the door, already animatedly talking. 

“Logan, it was amazing! Oh, you would have died to see it, he SPOKE to it, he spoke to it! It was huge, like huuuge!” He waved his hands high over his head, accenting his words, though Logan doubted that was anywhere near the height of the actual dragon. “And it had spikes, and fangs, and giant claws, and he just…” He walked two fingers across the table, “just walked up to it! Like it was nothing! After jumping in front of fire! He saved my life, Logan.” That caught Logan’s attention. 

“Jumped… did Remus jump into fire again?” He asked, not able to follow Roman’s rambling. Roman shook his head, leaning against the table, looking square in Logan’s eyes. 

“No. Deceit did. He jumped in front of dragon fire to protect me. And you know what? Not. A. Singe. Anywhere.” Roman paused for effect, smirking as he watched Logan’s silver pupils dilate.

“He… what? That is… physically impossible. Especially for a human. This is… unprecedented.” He slumped back in his chair, rubbing the bridge of his nose. 

“That’s not all. He spoke to it, Lo. He got it to chill out, it was hurt, and we got it healed up, and it just… took off! Like nothing! No fight, no struggle, just peacefully flying away. It’s the most badass thing I’ve ever seen!” Roman was pacing again, so excited at recounting the events, he couldn’t stay still. 

“Spoke to… I knew they communicated, of course, but I hadn’t thought they were intelligent enough to have languages… do they have the same intelligence as us? That changes everything! If we can speak to them, we can work out treaties, trade, we can understand them! Do you even realize the potential, the importance of this revelation!? It changes everything! We know almost nothing about the habits of dragons, they’re so rarely spotted, though there are some stories-“ Logan froze, calculations running in his mind, probabilities, other explanations, but as unlikely as it seemed, there was only one explanation. It all fit. It had to. 

“I have to go.” Without another word, Logan shot to his feet, and full on sprinted out of the room, looking more disheveled and frantic than Roman had ever seen. It was rather amusing. Usually he or Remus were the ones rushing off. 

“Ok then! Have a good… time?” Roman yelled after him, shaking his head fondly. Logan was such a nerd, of course only new scientific information would get him to hustle. 

Damien sat on his bed, in his room. It was large, spacious, covered in soft, thick rugs, walls of warm brown oak and beams criss crossing the ceiling, making the space seem even more open. He had a large, soft bed, piled with blankets and pillows, a mostly empty dresser, a bath chamber with a tub that was always filled with water of a perfect, steamy temperature, a vanity that held a mirror and oils for his scales. 

It was perfect, cozy and warm and nice, and despite his wish to spend every night cuddled close to Remus’s warmth, right now he needed this alone time, he needed this space, he needed to work through this in his mind so he could accept it and understand.

Halfling. That’s what the dragon had called him. Halfling. 

“NORMAL PEOPLE DON’T SPEAK DRAGON!” he winced as those words played back in his mind, and he shivered. He knew Remus didn’t mean it in that way, but it still struck him like a blow. 

How often had he been told normal people don’t have scales, normal people don’t talk to snakes, normal people don’t have golden eyes, normal people are better, and he’s not normal, so he’s bad. Below them. 

He traced the scales that lay across his cheek, their soft chill for once not bringing him comfort. He looked across the room, into the large mirror that took up a corner of the space. 

He’d never questioned why he had scales. Never questioned anything about himself or how he was before. He’d just accepted it for what it was, he’d never sought out an answer, and he’d never expected to get one. And now… now all the questions he’d never thought he’d had were rearing their ugly heads, chasing each other around and around in his mind.

Half dragon. Had it been his mother, or father? Why had they left him, abandoned him? Had he not been good enough, had he been too strange, had he been unwanted? Or had something happened, had something gone wrong, and they’d been forced to leave him? The other dragons? But Blue, as he’d started calling the dragon, hadn’t seemed to have a problem with him, hadn’t seemed all that surprised. So why…? 

His door slammed open and Logan burst in, almost panting, hair sticking up oddly. 

“You’re part dragon.” The fae stated, coming to a stop in front of him. Damien sighed, dropping his head into his hands. 

“Apparently.” He muttered. 

“Amazing. I’d read legends, stories, first hand accounts, of course, though none that I could corroborate, of dragons transforming into human avatars, but to my knowledge there’s been no account of this in millenia. Most dragons don’t even travel to the mortal realm anymore.” 

“What are you even saying?” came the muffled question from Damien, who was starting to get a headache. 

“Dragons, like fae, can instantly pass between this realm and the mortal one. Once, dragons roamed both lands freely, passing effortlessly between the two. Now, as humans spread and assert their dominance over the land, its become harder and harder to find any kind of safety for them there. The fae lands are much less populated, much easier to hide in, and most live in far off mountains, so high only they can reach the caves by flight. 

There are records that show dragons, at least powerful ones, sometimes have the ability to change forms. They have their normal dragon avatar, and one that appears more human, though usually, much like glamour, something of their true nature still comes through. Sharp nails, strange eyes, patches of scales, and the like. It’s most likely one of your parents was a dragon using a human avatar, hence your own draconic traits. That is also why you understood their language, that is a skill most young of other species are born with, innately understanding body language and vocalizations of their own kind. It is a bit more unique for you to be immune to dragon fire. Dragons are, of course, but that’s because of their scales, which you are not entirely covered in. No, it seems you have some innate ability, possibly some untapped reservoir of magic.” Damien let out a broken laugh at that. 

“Please. If I had any magic,” he practically spit the word, it tasted so bitter on his tongue, “I think I would have found it in me to use it when I was being tortured by a mob of angry men. I think I would have found the strength when they started cutting into me, or when they started burning me, or when they started cutting and tearing and ripping off my scales. I think any mysterious inner strength I had would have saved me. And if I do, and it didn’t? Then what use even is it?” He swiped furiously at his eyes, hands shaking. “And does it matter, if I can understand them? Speak to them? They clearly didn’t want me. Why would they want to speak to me at all? If they didn’t care when I was a tiny, helpless, baby, why would they care now that I’m capable of protecting myself?” He glared defiantly up at Logan, who had paused in his frantic pacing, looking rather confused as he took in Damien’s teared eyes. 

“Oh dear. I didn’t take into account what effect this information would have on your mental well being. I was being, how does Roman put, having no chill?” That got Damien to let out a laugh, a real one, though small, through his tears. 

Logan felt a small spark of pride in him, at that accomplishment, and he sat down on the bed next to Damien, fiddling with the buttons on his shirt. 

“magic is… capricious. It does what it wants, and manifests in many different ways. It can sometimes be triggered by trauma, yes, but it is just as likely to be repressed by the overwhelming emotions. Some people can heal, some can control the elements, some have a full range of magical abilities, and some people barely have a touch of it, so little they don’t even notice. You may not even have any, besides the abilities that you’ve already demonstrated. But I wouldn’t assume so. As today proved, you have abilities unlike any I have ever heard of.” Logan paused, looking up into Damien’s widened eyes. 

“I don’t know why they left you. I don’t believe it would be by choice. The few things we know of them are that they are extremely protective of their young. And… you are a remarkable person, Deceit. Because of who you are, not because of what you are. I hope you know that, and know that is why Remus loves you.” Damien let out a shaky breath, smiling down at his hands. His questions weren’t gone, they still ached, but they seemed to matter a little less now, in the wake of Logan’s words. He still doubted he held any kind of magic. In fact, he’d still be fairly furious if it turned out he did. But that was a different problem, one he didn’t have to face yet, hopefully ever. 

“I understand if you wish to not discuss this further. I have an unfortunate habit of overstepping bounderies, and I apologize for my discretions. But if you ever want to do some of your own research, the library is always open. And if you ever do want to try and access more magic, I would be more than willing to tutor you.” Damien watched Logan as he stood, biting his lip. 

“thanks… Lo.” He said softly, catching Logan’s small, smile as he turned his head, looking back at him from the door. 

“No. Thank you. You kept Roman from harm today. You’re the reason both my boys made it home. I won’t forget that.” And with that, Logan closed the door behind him, nearly running smack into Remus. He let out a rather undignified screech, startled before he managed to pull himself together with an imperious glare, off set by his furiously flushing face.

“Remus! What have we said about lurking?” He hissed, clearing his throat to rid himself of the squeak in his voice.   
“Is he ok? He said he needed space, and I want to give him that, but he didn’t seem ok, and you were just in there, so is he ok?” Remus asked, undeterred, unblinking. Logan softened. 

“He will be. He just needs time, to adjust.” Remus nodded, chewing on his thumbnail, a nervous habit he’d always had. 

“Can I… do you think it’s ok if I go in? I don’t wanna if he doesn’t want me there, right now, but-“ Logan cut him off, squeazing his shoulder. 

“Breathe, Ree. I think you going in there right now would be extremely beneficial. He could use someone right now. Someone who cares, and I know that you do.” Logan gently shoved him towards the door, sighing fondly as he left Remus to comfort his beloved. The two of them made a good match, and he was glad for them both. They each had badly needed someone, and they’d found each other. The universe truly was amazing.

“Hey Sunshine.” Remus murmured, slipping in through the door, closing it behind him. Damien was sitting on the bed, looking a bit lost and a bit sad and a bit calm, all at once. 

“hey.” Was the quiet reply, voice trembling and on the verge of breaking. Instantly, Remus was beside him, pulling Damien onto his lap, arms wrapped around the human’s middle, lips pressed to his forehead as he rocked him gently. 

“It’ll be ok, Sunshine. Whatever it is, it’ll be ok. I love you, Damien Alexander Lyre. I love you, and that’s all I know and all that matters, and no matter what I will be here for you whenever you need me or whenever you’re ready.” He murmured into Damien’s hair, feeling his human shiver at the use of his name. But then Damien raised his head and met Remus’s lips with his, before curling tight against him. 

“Stay?” His voice was so small, so tired and vulnerable, Remus felt himself hold him tighter. 

“Always.” He flopped back onto the bed, taking Damien with him, who let out a surprised yelp at the sudden movement, before laughing, hugging Remus around his waist, resting his forehead against his chest. He felt Remus curl around him, enveloping him in warmth and safety and comfort. He felt himself start to purr as Remus pulled the covers up over them, and started gently carding his fingers through his hair. He snuggled closer as Remus began to sing, that same, lilting melody that was his first memory of the fae realm, of Remus, of safety.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We haven't heard from Virgil in a bit hmmm? Wonder what's going on with him :)


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to Virgil, who is not doing so hot.

Patton was worried. It had been nearly two full days now, since he’d found the human, and in that time, he hadn’t felt a single thing from him. Not a thought, or emotion, or anything that could give him the slightest clue how to help. 

It was disconcerting, almost unbalancing, to have no idea what was going on in another being’s head, especially one who had been so obviously distressed. It was like the human had shut down, pushed everything behind mental walls, and simply refused to let himself feel anything anymore, choosing to be numb and unthinking rather than face whatever it was that had happened. 

He hadn’t eaten anything, either, despite Patton’s reassurances that the food wouldn’t bind him to the fae realm, despite Patton explaining that he’d return him to the mortal realm as soon as he was better, despite all his gentle coaxing and pleas and even begging, the human just sat there, unresponsive, mind a cold and frigid plain of nothing. 

He needed something, just a hint, just a feeling, just anything, he hated being in the dark, hated not knowing how to help, hated that the human was choosing to hurt himself in this way. 

He’d at least been sipping the water Patton had placed before him, not often, and not enough, but it was something, it told Patton that despite appearences the human wasn’t entirely gone, there was still something inside trying to break through, trying to live. 

“Come on, kiddo. Just a bite. It’ll make you feel better.” He tried, holding a plate of cookies. He’d prefer the human to eat something healthier, but honestly anything would relieve him at this point. The human didn’t even look up at him, eyes open but unseeing, as if he were somewhere else, lost in his mind. 

“I’ll leave them right here, ok? You have as many as you want, I made them just for you.” He realized the human had started crying, silent tears tracking down his cheeks. He could almost scream with frustration. The human was crying, but still not feeling anything, still empty and hollow and he didn’t know what to do!

“Hey, now, kiddo. It’s ok.” He slowly sat down next to the human, reaching out to wipe away his tears. The human flinched at the touch, but didn’t pull away, leaning into it after a moment. “Come here, buddy.” He opened his arms, holding his breath as the human slowly blinked, looking at him hard, before scooting closer, letting Patton hold him as the human curled against him. This was the most of a reaction he’d gotten since he’d brought the human home.

“That’s it, dear, it’s ok. It’ll be ok.” He murmured soothingly, gently rocking the human, whom he felt drifting off. Good, the poor thing hadn’t been sleeping, either. 

Well. He still couldn’t sense anything from the human, but this was a step in the right direction. Even if the human still wasn’t feeling or talking, at least he trusted Patton. He really was a small thing, now curled in Patton’s arms like a cat, nestled against his chest. Patton sighed, smoothing back the human’s hair. He hadn’t been sleeping much either, so caught up in his worry. Now that the human was resting, so could he.

He’s in the woods. He doesn’t know why, but he feels panic bloom in his chest, racing towards the setting sun. He needs to hurry, he needs to be faster, he needs to make it-

He hears a scream. A gut wrenching, agonized, scream, and he falters, tripping over a tree root and falling, scrambling back to his feet. His heart pounds in his chest. No, no! Not this time, he will stop it this time. 

He breaks through the trees, gathering shadows as he goes. They whisper and murmur in his ear, swirling around him and coiling up his arms, asking him what he needs. 

“Help him.” He utters, as he crashes into the village. There is a crowd around the town center, yelling and shoving and pushing forwards. His heart sinks, his anger grows. 

Not again not again not again!

His shadows shove the crowd apart, and he falls to his knees, because he is too late. He is always too late. 

Damien is tied to a post, a bonfire raging around him, licking up his clothing and burning away his flesh, his scales melting in the heat. He demands his shadows help him, but they just sit still, fade away, whispering apologies. 

There’s no one there to help. 

It doesn’t matter now, anyways. The villagers murmur, distrust and fear lighting their eyes as the last of the shadows fade from his arms, as he howls up at the sky, because he’s always too late, too late, too late! 

He doesn’t struggle as they grab him, haul him closer to the fire, until he can feel the heat pulsing against him, the smoke choking him, eyes watering not just from the tears. 

They throw him in the fire. He screams, the flames eating him alive, tearing him apart, burning and singing and devouring. 

But he deserves it. He doesn’t even try to get away, he deserves this. He hears Damien’s voice, explaining the basics of magic to him, so he would know what to do when it all coiled too tight in his chest. He saw the two of them in summer fields, laughing as they made lopsided flower crowns, Damien snatching his and taking off, a game of chase ensuing until he tackled Damien to the ground, breathless as they cloud watched. He saw Damien spitting furious and hurt, as he said those unforgivable words, as he fled his best friends house, as he left him alone, alone, alone! 

His fault, his fault, his fault, his fault, his fault-

He screamed. He couldn’t do anything else but scream. His eyes flew open and he gasped in breaths, and he sobbed and wailed and screamed, because all his barriers had been broken, somehow, and the only thing he was left feeling was this wash of pain because it was his fault, his fault, his fault.

It was his fault Damien was dead, his fault he’d died horribly, his fault no one had been there to help, his fault that the last thing Damien heard him say was Damien’s worst fears come to life, rejection and cruelty and hate, and it was his fault! 

He was dimly aware of someone rocking him, murmuring softly, he was aware his shadows were growing, stretching over the room, whispering and curling around him, asking him what he needed, what he wanted, and he sobbed harder, because the one thing he wanted he could never have. 

“I just want him back. I just want him back, I didn’t mean it, I want to apologize, I don’t care if he’d forgive me or not, but I can’t even do that, can I?” He laughed harshly, choking on the bitterness that clogged his throat, eating him up from the inside out. His shadows pulled back, abandoning him like he deserved, he deserved to be alone. 

He didn’t see one of them slip under the door. Didn’t see it gliding across the ground, coiling and springing and flying towards the castle, didn’t know that it threw itself high into the sky, slamming itself against a pane of glass until it shattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming soon: the reunion you've all been waiting for :)
> 
> and as always, thanks for reading, commenting, leaving kudos! Y'all are awesome!


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil's shadow finds Damien.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S THE REUNION YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR (part 1) BUCKLE UP BABY!
> 
> please comment on this one, I wanna know everyone's reactions :)

“The FUCK!?” Remus screeched, instantly summoning his morning star, leaping out of bed and trying to impale the strange murky black creature that had just shattered through the glass. His eyes widened as it simply parted around his weapon, reforming as he pulled back. His eyes narrowed. 

“Fine. Let’s try this!” green flames erupted in his hands, and he threw one at the thing, which looked alarmed, as it squeaked smally, springing out of the way. Remus cursed as the flame fizzled out against the stone floor. He threw another, and another, the thing barely managing to dodge each time, slowly moving closer and closer to the bed. 

Damien had been startled awake by Remus’s screech, and the jolt as he leaped off the bed, sending him sprawling across it, shoved out of his lap. It took him a few moments to orient himself, and register what, exactly, was going on. 

Remus was firing green flames at a shadowy thing that scurried across the floor, his shots getting faster as he got more annoyed at missing. Then one of the flames nearly hit, exploding against the ground, lighting up the shadow. Damien’s eyes flew wide. 

“Stop!” He yelled, and Remus instantly froze, fire still playing across his fingers. Instantly, he slid out of bed, onto the ground. The shadow froze as well, before turning in his direction, coiled low to the ground. He heard Remus let out a low growl as it started gliding towards him, and his own heart sped. 

“Don’t do anything, Ree. It’s ok, I think.” He said softly. The shadow flowed towards him, coiling up his waist, around his shoulder, up his arm, finally settling in his hand, a small pool of inkiness with a small blob for a head. Damien’s hand was shaking. 

It couldn’t be. Couldn’t be. He couldn’t be here, how would he be here, why would he be here, it didn’t make any sense. He was worried and furious and terrified all at once. 

“help. Needs help.” The shadow whispered, and his eyes narrowed furiously. 

“help? Why should I help Him? He didn’t help me, he left me to die!” He spat, shaking with fury now. The shadow shook its head. 

“wasn’t there.” He scowled, eyes narrowing. 

“I’m aware. He left me.” The shadow vibrated, a bit frantically, shaking what passed for its head. 

“Tree house.” His brow furrowed in puzzlement for a moment, before he sunk back, letting out a long breath and a whispered “fuck.”

The tree house. That was always where He went when he was upset or angry or needed to let off steam. Of course, after their fight, he’d gone there, probably cooled down, he’d said those things, but he didn’t mean them, or all of them, at least, and came back expecting to get laid into, have a conversation, maybe even apologize, and instead- 

“help!” The shadow begged, more frantically, spiraling around his arm, losing form as it raced towards the door across the floor. He swallowed hard. If it was Him, and it had to be, he owed it to himself to face Him. To get closure. To help Him, to be better than Him.

He would be better. 

“We need to follow it. Remus, we need to go, right now.” He uttered, voice too level to be truly calm. Remus nodded once, helping pull him to his feet. 

“Ok. Let’s go.” 

Patton had wanted to feel something from the human, and oh boy, had he gotten his wish. The dam had broken, and now it was all he could do to keep himself centered, to keep control of his own body, because the human’s emotions were a tornado, a whirling storm, an endless vortex that threatened to unmoor him and drown him in their depths. 

He barely realized the world truly was spinning, shadows whirling around the room, enveloping everything in darkness, as the human screamed and sobbed and keened with grief, pure, agonizing grief. 

It took a monumental effort, to take a breath, to reach out, to place a hand on his and hold it as his heart broke. 

Patton had been wrong. He couldn’t fix this. He couldn’t heal this hurt. This had torn the human’s soul apart, and he couldn’t heal that kind of wound. But even if it was all he could do, he was going to keep hold of the human’s hand, he was going to be there, he was not going to let the human feel all of this all on his own, no matter how bad it hurt. He would not let the human lose himself to this, not on his life.

They followed the shadow through the trees, Damien steering Freya, his dragon eye giving him keen night vision. He gasped as the shadow took a turn, and he realized he recognized the path they were heading down moments before the house came into view. 

He slid off before Freya had even come to a full stop, taking in the shadows wreathing the house from the floor to the roof, the wisps of darkness seeping under the doorframe, clouding the windows. It was bad, this was worse than he’d ever seen Him, worse than he’d even known it could get. He ignored Remus’s voice calling to him to wait, slow down, and threw open the door, stumbling into the fray. 

It was nearly pitch black, the dark pushing back against him, thick enough he had to wade through it. He could hear the echoes of His thoughts in them, when it exploded uncontrolled like this. 

“my fault my fault my fault” 

“should have been there should have stopped it should have known”

“sorrysorrysorrysorrysorry” 

“didn’t mean it, didn’t mean it, didn’t mean it” 

“Please, no nonononono please please please!” 

He winced, the words cutting to his heart. He really hadn’t known. Hadn’t been there. 

“Deserve it, deserve hurt, deserve pain, deserve death, deserve this” 

He felt his breath catch, hearing those shadows’ words. Then he heard it. A loud, aching, endless, cry, rage and grief and sorrow filling the air, above the whirling of wind, above the whispers of shadows, above the blood pounding in his own ears.

Those cries tasted of earthy, dark chocolate, of bitter and deep, earnest truth. He was suddenly sure, suddenly certain, that whatever else was true, Virgil hadn’t been there. Virgil would have helped if he were. So he mustered his voice, mustered his courage. 

“VEE!” He screamed the nickname and immediately, everything stopped. The darkness vanished, the lights came back on, the whispers stopped, the wind ceased. 

And there he was. Curled, shivering, small and thin and looking like a mess, eyes wide and disbelieving and red as he stared, not breathing, not moving, so, so afraid that if he blinked this vision would disappear. 

“no. you’re not real. You… they killed you. They tore you apart and destroyed you and killed you.” Virgil whispered, breath shuddering in and out, shaking his head and hugging his knees to his chest. 

“oh, Vee-“ he took a step forward, stopping as Virgil shook his head harder, his whole body shaking. 

“don’t. don’t do this, don’t taunt me like this, don’t… it’s my fault, I know it’s my fault, I know! I wasn’t there, I didn’t know, I didn’t stop it. I tore it apart, I burned and tore and broke and snapped until it was all gone, all gone, just like you. You would have been so proud, I finally let go, let it all out, showed them exactly what I can do, and I scorched it to the ground for you.” Virgil buried his head against his knees, silent sobs wracking his frame. 

“I just want you back. I just want to say I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it, I didn’t mean any of it, I never would mean any of it, and I didn’t get to say that, I didn’t get to make it up to you, I didn’t listen, I never listen, and you were always, always right, and I left and you died because I was a selfish, stupid, idiot and you’re gone! You’re… you’re gone…” 

Damien stood there, stricken, instantly forgetting all of his righteous fury in the face of Virgil’s words, his grief. He was overwhelmed by the taste of citrus, sweet and sour truth. 

“Virgil, Vee, my little shadow weaver, look at me.” He said softly, approaching carefully and kneeling before the couch, looking intently at Virgil, whose face was still buried against his knees, chest heaving with sobs. “Please, Vee. It’s me, it’s truly me.” He felt a soft chill against his arm, and looked down to see the little shadow that had fetched him swirling up his arm, coming to sit on his shoulder. 

“found him!” It chirped proudly, making Virgil’s head shoot up, eyes wide as he looked at the shadow, looked up at Damien. His heart raced, he felt light headed, he felt doubt and hope and fear all fighting inside him, but he’d asked his shadows to find Damien, and he’d learned long ago that if something was impossible, they simply wouldn’t comply. 

“it’s me, shadowling. I’m ok. I’m ok.” He braced himself, as Virgil threw himself off the couch, into his arms, shaking and sobbing all over again, clutching his shirt tightly as if he’d never let go. Damien held him back just as tight, rubbing his back, murmuring soothingly, trying to contain his own tears. How had he thought for a moment that Virgil didn’t care? He’d clearly torn himself to pieces, nearly destroyed himself in grief, and Damien had dared to think Virgil didn’t care. 

“Ree?” Patton blinked, unsure what exactly had happened for a moment, before it all came rushing back. “Remus! He knows Dee, I saw it, we need him-“ Remus shushed him, nodding towards the floor, where Damien was cradling Virgil, rocking him as the other held him tight and cried. 

“I think we figured that out, Pat. A… shadow thing brought us here. Are you alright?” Remus asked, looking over Patton seriously, for any sign of injury. The pixie had been unconscious, and that had scared him badly. Patton nodded, shaking his wings out in a stretch. 

“Bit of a migraine. I just got overloaded, is all. It was so strong, it just knocked me out.” Remus let out a breath, relieved. 

“how are you here? how… they told me… I thought… I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Virgil whispered, voice raw and broken, hoarse from screaming.

“shhh, Vee, shh. It’s ok, it’s alright, we’ll have a long talk in the morning, ok? But right now, you need to sleep, you need to get some rest, you’ve made yourself sick.” 

“deserve it.” Damien pulled back, tilting Virgil’s chin up so he was forced to look at him. 

“No, you don’t. You hurt me, Vee, with your words, which you have already apologized for, and if I were thinking clearer, I would have realized you didn’t mean them. You are not responsible for what they did to me, you weren’t there, you didn’t know, and if you had been, you would have tried your damndest to stop it. This was not your fault.” He emphasized the last few words, making Virgil see them, acknowledge them, even if he couldn’t accept it himself yet, at least he could see that Damien believed it. 

Virgil collapsed against him, sniffling into his shirt, still shaking, though he had untensed slightly, relaxing into his touch, curling into his presence. 

“I missed you.” Came the small, broken words, which brought a small smile to Damien’s face, as he kissed the top of Virgil’s head. 

“I know.” He replied, reveling in the small snort that elicited, the small hint of laughter. “now go to sleep, dear, I know that display wiped you out.” He finished, humming softly, Virgil putty in his arms as he instantly fell into an uneasy sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things settle down.
> 
> For the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mostly fluff this chapter, folks, with a hint of logicality, just for fun.

Silence. A long, drawn out silence, everyone trying to get their bearings.

“Dee? What was that? What happened?” Remus asked, fussing over Patton on the couch. 

“His magic. He’s never had any training for it, he represses it most of the time, so if he’s feeling strongly sometimes it just… explodes out of him. What he was saying… Patton where did you find him?” Damien asked, turning to the pixie. 

“The middle of a wrecked village. I think… I think he exploded, like you were saying. His grief nearly wiped me out, it was… it was so big. Unlike anything I’ve ever felt. But then he just… shut down. I haven’t gotten anything, I mean anything, from him for days.” Patton replied. 

“Serves them right. Gods, I would have loved to see their faces. He was always so quiet, no one would have expected that from him. My brave little shadow.” Damien murmured, kissing the top of Virgil’s head.

“You love him.” Remus stated, and a smile ghosted over Damien’s lips. 

“I do. He’s like a little brother to me. Getting jelous, Ree?” He asked, smirking, 

“Maybe. It just gives me all the more reason to woo you using all of my charms.” Damien froze as Remus leaned in close, whispering in his ear. “And I do pride myself on my charm.” He shivered as Remus kissed the spot right under his ear. 

He surprised Remus as he pulled away, darting forwards and kissing him passionately, nipping his bottom lip before kissing the tip of his nose, pulling away and feeling a rush of satisfaction as he saw the blush across Remus’s face. 

“Two can play at that game, love.” Their banter was interrupted by a squeal from Patton, who’s hands were on his cheeks, eyes wide and grin splitting across his face. 

“So cuuuute! You figured it out! All on your own! I’m so proud!” Remus laughed and wrapped an arm around Damien’s shoulders. 

“Yeah, well, when you think the one you love just died in front of your eyes before you got the chance to tell them, you get a rush of courage.” 

“What?!” Patton exclaimed, looking between the two, noticing how Damien had tensed up.

“You heard about the dragon? Well this idiot ran in front of dragon fire to protect Roman. Thinking he got burnt to a crisp before my eyes kinda gave me the push I needed.” Remus laughed, but there was a pained note to it, something like fear in his eyes. Patton was drawn to Damien, the unease radiating off of him. 

“Dee? Are you ok?” He asked, and Damien sighed. 

“I’m half dragon. That’s why I was immune to the dragon fire, that’s why I could speak to him. Logan thinks I might have other magic, too, but I don’t know if I want that, after everything. It feels like too little, too late. I don’t… I don’t want them to have been right about anything. About… me.” He finished softly. 

“They’re not. Even if you do have magic, that doesn’t make them right, you didn’t even know about it until now, much less use it before for any reason, and especially not against them. This doesn’t change who you are, or what you did, and it doesn’t make their actions in any way justified. It doesn’t mean they were right about anything. And I have no doubt any kind of magic you do have would be just as soft and kind as you are.” Remus replied fiercly, turning Damien’s head to face him. 

“He’s right. Magic manifests in many ways, but it is an extension of yourself, your soul. You’re not bad or evil for having it, and what they did… nothing, nothing would ever warrant that level of violence.” Patton replied, smiling softly at Damien, who let out a long breath.

“If it’s an extension of yourself, why is his so… dark?” Patton frowned, getting to his feet. 

“It’s not, not really. It’s taking something most people are afraid of and bending it to your will. It’s turning weakness into a strength. But the shadows can be powerful, it’s easy for it to turn, to find they’ve started controlling you. Most fae even have trouble with it. It’s no wonder it explodes like that.” Patton turned his gaze to Remus. 

“Did you tell anyone where you were going, before you took off?” Remus blushed, mumbling a no under his breath. 

“Well, I’m going to make some tea to settle us all. You need to call Logan and tell him where you are before they send out a search party.” Remus groaned. 

“Probably a good idea, given the broken glass and scorch marks you added to the décor before we left.” Damien commented dryly.

“Please, that’s nothing. You should have seen it after he brought back a baby chimera! It was a mess. Logan had to douse the place in antivenom and cleanse everything from top to bottom. When they said he couldn’t keep it he got into a fist fight with Roman before they both got grounded and pets were banned from the castle.” Patton commented. 

“Pat stop, you’re embarrassing meeeeee.” Remus whined, making Patton roll his eyes. 

“And you’re stalling. Call Logan.” Patton said firmly but fondly as he left the room. 

“You don’t understand, Logan is not a morning person. He’s like a bear stomping around before he’s had coffee, he is not gonna be happy about being woken up. Now, where is that mirror?” He muttered, digging around the couch. 

“Patton, where’s the mirror?” He called, over the noise of pots clanking in the kitchen and a muffled gosh dang it. 

“what?” 

“I SAID WHERE’S THE MIRROR?!” He shouted, just as Patton stepped back into the room, flinching at the volume. 

“Geez, kiddo, you don’t have to shout. I think it’s still under the couch, where you shoved it last time so you ‘wouldn’t have to see Roman’s stupid face.” Damien was giggling at their antics, only laughing harder as Remus muttered something about Roman indeed having a very stupid face, before his face lit up. 

“Aha! Got it!” He pulled a mirror out from under the couch, it was framed in silver, handle carved thorns and roses, the mirror the size of Remus’s hand.

“Are you sure we should be waking him up?” Remus asked, looking away innocently. 

“Remus-” Patton said warningly, and Remus sighed. 

“Fine.” His hand hovered over the mirror, and the glass began to glow with soft, green light. “Logan.” He stated, and the swirling green vanished, revealing a warm looking room. The only light came from a lamp on a desk, a shadow slumped over in the chair nearby. 

“Fell asleep studying again. Typical. Logan! Come on, up and at ‘em!” Remus called, clapping his hands twice in emphasis. Logan groaned. 

“Nooo I need t’ask him if their pyrokinesis is magical or biological…” Patton giggled. 

“He’s such a nerd, only Logan dreams of research. Come on, LoLo, we need to talk real quick, hon.” Patton called. Logan groaned again, but this time he pushed himself up to sitting in his chair, stretching and pushing his hair back, before squinting at the mirror. 

“Patton? Why are you calling? Not that I don’t find conversing with you enjoyable, it just seems like a less than opportune time.” Logan commented, yawning. 

“Hey, actually it’s me. Keep it together, bro.” Remus replied, snapping his fingers. 

“Remus, are you alright? Surely you remember Roman is your brother, and I am your advisor. Also, why are you at Patton’s? While I do find his house rather nice and comforting, I doubt that,” he paused, looking at the time piece on his desk, “three in the morning, is it really three in the morning? Are proper visiting hours.” Patton giggled. 

“Aw, thanks Lolo! You know you can visit anytime.” Logan cleared his throat, trying to hide his blush. 

“And we’re losing him. Focus, Lo. An emergency came up. One of Dee’s… friends? Was hurt.” Logan frowned, snapping back to attention.

“Remus, we cannot stand any delays. We are almost a week behind on work, any further and things will start to spiral into chaos.” Remus opened his mouth to protest, but Damien stopped him. 

“He’s right. You go and get caught up today, and I’ll stay here, keeping an eye on him.” Remus frowned. 

“Are you sure?” 

“I’ll be fine, I’m with Patton. And if you miss me too much, you can use your magic mirror voodoo to call.” Remus chuckled, looking back to the mirror. 

“Alright. I’ll be there and actually foccused on work for the day, if you actually go to bed ang get some sleep.” Logan sighed, but nodded.

“Acceptable, I suppose.” Came Logan’s reply, as the mirror started to swirl.

“Bye, Lolo!” 

“Farewell, Patton.” Came the tired response. Then the mirror showed nothing but a normal reflection.

“See? That wasn’t so bad!” Patton said. 

“Only cause you were calling him.” Remus replied, smirking a bit at Patton’s blush, before he turned serious. “Now. How are you doing, Pat?” He asked. Patton instantly pasted on a smile.

“I’m fine!” He chirped. 

“Patton. That lie tasted like soured cream.” Damien answered. Patton sighed, plopping into the arm chair next to the couch, holding his tea mug close. 

“It’s just been a lot, these past few days. Too much of… well, just, too much.” He said softly. 

“Patton. We can go.” Patton shook his head, but Remus soldiered on. “You were unconscious. I know it takes a lot to knock you out like that, and I know you need quiet and time to recover. So if us being here right now is hurting you, we can go. You need to take care of yourself, too, Pat.” Patton sighed, leaning back in the chair and closing his eyes, silent for several long moments. 

“No. I should be okay, with this. All of you are calm enough, right now, and I’m used to you enough, it won’t keep me up. I promise, Ree.” Patton said, catching the hesitance from Remus. 

“Alright. I trust you, Pat. Now, Logan usually gets up at eight, far too early, if you ask me, but that means I can catch a couple hours of zzz’s here, before I have to head back. Night, Pat, Night, Sunshine!” with that, Remus leaned back, resting his head against Damien’s shoulder, who laughed as he instantly started snoring. 

“Wow. He really does sleep like a rock, doesn’t he?” 

“He can fall asleep pretty much anywhere. The roof of the palace, my roof, the tops of counters, tops of shelves, the top of Roman’s four poster bed, random trees, I can’t even count how many times he’s popped up from a nap and scared Roman half to death.” Damien chuckled, eyes flicking down to Virgil as he shifted in his sleep, making a soft sound of distress. 

“Hey now, Vee. I’m right here, love.” He murmured, pushing Virgil’s hair back, Virgil instantly relaxing into his touch. 

“So. You and Logan, hmm?” He asked after a moment of silence, looking up in time to catch Patton’s blush. 

“In my head, maybe. Logan has a lot of practice using his head, and not as much at using his heart. I can feel he feels the same way, I think, anyways. He hardly knows what he feels half the time, he’s so stubborn like that.” 

“Well, he lets you call him Lolo, and I doubt anyone else could get away with that. I think your chances are pretty good.” Patton smiled, shaking his head as he yawned. 

“Maybe. G’night, Dee.” He murmured, setting down his luke warm tea and curling up in his chair, pulling a blanket over himself so only his antennae were sticking out. 

“Night, Pat.” Damien replied softly, settling back and closing his eyes. He hadn’t realized how tired he was through all the adrenaline of finding Virgil, but he found once his eyes were closed, he immediately drifted off.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil and Damien talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have some more soft fluff!

He runs through the woods. He needs to be faster, he needs to get there sooner, he can’t be late again, he won’t be too late! 

He summons his shadows, sending them ahead, ordering them to find him, keep him safe, and they swirl away. His heart pounds with fear. It knows, but he refuses to believe it. He won’t let him down. Not this time. 

He skids into the village, taking in the chaos. The shadows are diving through roofs, crashing through windows, searching. People are running and screaming, but he couldn’t care less. 

One of his shadows wraps itself up his legs, around his waist, pulling him forwards, deeper into the village, until they are at the center, and he gasps, falling to his knees. 

They have cut the rope, but the purple bruising is still there, his neck at an unnatural angle. Desperatly, he feels for a pulse, listens for a heart beat, feels for the slightest inhale of breath, but there is nothing. 

He pulls Damien into his lap and sobs, because he is always too late, too late, too late-

“Virgil!” His eyes flashed open as he looked up at the face before him, familiar mismatched eyes, yellow scales, worry written all over his face. 

He’s saying something, but Virgil can’t hear him. The room is too dark and too bright all at once, and everything is too much and too little, and he can’t hear anything over his own pulse and gasping breaths and the room is closing in and there’s not enough air and he can’t breathe! 

Then a rush of calm swept over him, gentle as summer rain, like a soft breeze. He blinked, looking up into blue eyes. 

“There we are. Feeling better?” He still couldn’t find his voice, but his eyes were drawn to the two antennae sticking out of the person’s hair, and he found himself reaching out a hand and patting them gently. They felt lighter than air, so soft they almost felt like nothing at all, except for the soft tickle against his fingers.

“Oh! Hello to you too, kiddo!” Patton laughed, his antennae twitching away, and Virgil groaned, slumping back against the couch. He realized he was on the floor, he must have rolled off the couch in his panic. 

“Welp. I’ve lost my mind. I am hallucinating right now and none of this is real, and I’m probably freezing to death in the woods somewhere.” He proclaimed. 

“Vee, I promise you this is real. You’re going to have to try a hell of a lot harder if you want to get away from me so easily.” Damien replied, placing a hand on Virgil’s shoulder, who flinched at the touch. 

“I should have been there.” Damien frowned, slipping off the couch to sit beside him. 

“You didn’t know. It’s… funny, I thought if I ever saw you again I’d be pissed, I’d be so furious I’d want to absolutely destroy you.” Virgil let out a dry bark of laughter. 

“I deserve it. You should be mad, you have every right to be.” 

“But I’m not, Vee.” He said softly, reaching out and pushing Virgil’s bangs back, so he could see his brown eyes, so broken and afraid. “Because you tore that place apart, for me. You destroyed the only home you’d ever had and scared away any person you’d ever known. Because you were tearing yourself apart, for not being there. You’ve punished yourself enough, for a crime you didn’t commit. You were the only person who ever cared for me there, and even when you thought I was gone you didn’t stop caring. Our friendship, was never a lie. So I’m not mad, Vee. We both made mistakes. But we’re both still here. And that’s what matters. Ok?” Virgil let out a shaky breath, feeling another wave of calm wash over him, as he nodded. 

“Ok. Are you… are you really ok? How? I heard… I heard some of what they did and…” he bit his lip, old fury rising through him. “And where… where are we?” He asked. Damien hesitated for a moment, only making Virgil’s anticipation worse. 

“The Fae realm.” Virgil’s eyes went wide with panic, and he shot to his feet, instantly starting to pace, nervousness making him unable to sit still. 

“Ok! Ok okokokok, that’s… that’s not great, but it’s fine! Everything’s fine!” He laughed unconvincingly.

“It is. Patton found you and brought you here to help. He will take you back there whenever you want, if you want. Right, Pat?” He asked, sending a warning glance at Patton. 

“Yup! Exactly what he said, kiddo.” Patton chirped. Virgil stilled, taking in Patton’s wings and antennae, the pointed ears poking through his hair, before turning to Damien. 

“Wait. How did you get here?” He asked. Damien flushed and looked away, clearing his throat. 

“I may have done something monumentally stupid after managing to escape.” Virgil’s face paled, enough that Patton was afraid he was about to pass out. 

“You didn’t… you didn’t make a deal with one, did you?” Damien let out a nervous chuckle. 

“No, it was a hell of a lot more idiotic than that. I gave myself to a fae.” Virgil staggered, gripping a bookcase to keep himself stable as Damien rushed on. “But it’s fine! Him and Patton healed me, and he promised on my name and his crown that I’d be safe and protected, and he’s never once used my name to control me and me he’s actually quite kind and me and Remus are kind of dating now?” Damien finished, almost holding his breath as he watched a war of emotions play across Virgil’s face, before he finally sighed. 

“ok. I’m not… thrilled, but… but ok. I trust you. If you say it’s ok, it’s ok. You’re… you’re really fine?” He asked, biting his lip. Damien was across the room to him in three steps, hands on his shoulders as he looked the shorter man in the eyes. 

“I am. I promise.” Virgil nodded, then collapsed against him, hugging him tightly, more tears dripping down his face. 

“Only you would be stupid enough to give yourself away to a noble and have it somehow work out.” Virgil mumbled against Damien’s chest, feeling it vibrate as he laughed. 

“Yeah, well, lady luck owed me one, I suppose. Now, do you wanna stay like this for a bit, or do you wanna sit down?” Damien asked, knowing Virgil needed choices after a panic attack like that one, to feel in control.

“Dunno.” He replied, with a shrug, and Damien grinned, scooping Virgil up in his arms in one fluid motion, plopping back onto the couch with him in his lap, laughing as he was rewarded with an annoyed hiss from Virgil. 

“Don’t hiss at me, this is what happens when you don’t make your own choices.” Virgil burrowed deeper against him, breathing in his scent of sandalwood and spice, something he’d never thought he’d have ever again. Damien frowned as Virgil shivered, curling tighter against him.

“Virg? You okay?” Virgil frowned, shaking his head. 

“M’sleepy and cold.” He mumbled. Damien felt his forehead, wincing. Virgil was burning hot, the fever must have set in overnight. No wonder, he hadn’t eaten in days and had been out in the cold before that, and was spent from using so much magic he couldn’t control. It was no surprise his body was burning itself up searching for energy. 

“Fever.” He said, meeting eyes with Patton, who had been sending out calming waves this whole time, trying to ease Virgil’s worries. 

“I’m surprised it took this long. I have some medicine already made that’ll help take it down. A dose now and a dose tonight should have it gone by tomorrow.” Patton said, fluttering down the hall. 

“Ok. We have something that’ll make you feel better, Vee. But I need you to stay awake for me, for just another minute. Then you can sleep, ok?” He asked, and Virgil groaned, but allowed Damien to adjust him into a sitting position, wrapping blankets around him to help break the fever. 

“Ok, kiddo, open up!” Patton ordered gently, holding a cup of green liquid to Virgil’s mouth. Virgil complied, swallowing the mixture in one gulp before sticking his tongue out in distaste. 

“S’bad.” He mumbled, and Patton chuckled. 

“I know. But it’ll help you feel better in no time. Now, get some rest for me, kiddo.” Suddenly Virgil’s eyes flew open and he shook his head. 

“No. No, I can’t. Every time I’m too late, I can’t… I can’t lose you again, I can’t…” Virgil trailed off, as Damien cupped his cheek. 

“Listen to me. I will be right here when you wake up. I am not going anywhere, love. I promise.” The fierceness in his voice took Virgil’s breath away, then he leaned against him, letting his eyes drift closed. 

“okay. Love you, Scales.” He mumbled, feeling Damien smile as he kissed the top of his head. 

“Love you too, Shadowling.” 

Damien sighed, leaning back as Virgil fell asleep, carefully dabbing at his forehead with the wet cloth Patton had brought along with the medicine.

“I’ll put on some soup, for when he wakes up. He needs to eat something, sooner rather than later.” Damien hummed in agreement. 

“You should go take a break.” Damien said, startling Patton. 

“I can’t just leave you two alone!” Damien raised an eyebrow, looking up at Patton. 

“Patton, I am capable of caring for Virgil alone for a few hours. Gods know I’ve done it before. And you’re wearing yourself thin. If you collapse too then I’ll be left in charge, and trust me, that is a bad plan.” Patton sighed, smiling smally. 

“Alright. I’ll be in the garden, then, I can get some vegetables for the soup. A few hours quiet wouldn’t hurt, I suppose. I’ll still be in range, if something goes wrong or you need me, but you should be muted enough it won’t bother me.” Damien nodded. 

“Have fun!” Damien called, as Patton headed towards the door. Patton smiled as he left, practically skipping to his garden and green house. Already, he felt better, a bit lighter in the early afternoon air. It soothed the headache he had coming on, and the sun on his wings made them flutter happily. 

Today was going to be a good day. He could feel it.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan releases the boys from work, and reunites with an old aquaintence.

The sound of pen against paper filled the room, the quiet scratching filling the room with the smell of parchment and ink. Roman groaned, thumping his head against the table, jostling it. Logan raised a brow. 

“Is there something on your mind, Roman?” 

“We’ve been at it all day, Lo! Surely we can take a break!” Logan placed his quill on the table. 

“We have already agreed there will be an hour break for lunch at noon, which is only,” Logan paused, checking his time piece, “one hour and two minutes away. Surely you can focus on your work for that long.” 

“But it’s so boring! It’s killing my soul, Logan!” Roman leaned back his chair, so it was balancing on the back two legs. Remus snorted at his dramatics, not stopping in his work. 

“Please, it’s not that bad. Just do it and stop complaining and it’ll be done sooner.” 

“Easy for you to say, you’ve got your boyfriend to look forwards to.” Roman scoffed, grinning at the blush that flashed across Remus’s face. 

“Why should that make him work any faster than you? Perhaps the sooner we get done, the sooner you can find a boyfriend.” Logan replied, Remus cackling at the burning red that overtook Roman’s face. 

“Yeah Ro, go find your own human to pamper!” Remus replied, throwing a balled up piece of paper at Roman’s chest. The impact was enough to throw off his balance, and with a yelp Roman’s chair overturned, sending him sprawling back across the floor. 

“Alright. Perhaps a break may be in order.” 

“Wait, really?” Roman asked, attempting to mavuever himself out of the overturned chair into a sitting position on the floor. 

“Yes. You have both done an admirable job this morning, and we are almost through all the work that needed tending to. I do appreciate the effort from both of you.” Roman shot to his feet, fist pumping the air. 

“YES! You’re the best, Lo!” He pulled Logan into a quick one armed hug, before darting out the door and down the hall before another word could be said.

“You know you’re never getting him back in here, right?” Remus asked, and Logan sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. 

“I am aware. But we did get a lot done and I was already losing his focus. I appreciate your efforts as well, Remus.” 

“Anytime, Lo. Oh! I was going to ask, Dee’s friend, he has shadow magic, like really powerful stuff, and has never learned anything about it. I was wondering if you’d give him some pointers? And I’m sure Patton wouldn’t mind you dropping by, Lolo.” Remus teased, flashing him a smile before vanishing down the hall, leaving Logan blushing and speechless.

Patton was kind and smart and far too impulsive and emotional for him. Yet his heart insisted on beating harder when Patton was near, his impulse to run his hands through the pixie’s hair was nearly overwhelming, and he felt a protective surge run through him at the thought of anything happening to him. 

He composed himself after a moment, pushing away the unnecessary and auxiliary and confusing emotions the mention of Patton brought to the surface, shaking his head to clear his thoughts as he left the room. 

Absently, he summoned dark shadows to his hands, watching as they twined around his fingers, twisting up his arm before coalescing on his head, settling in his hair like a nest. 

It had been a long time since he met anyone else with shadow magic. It was a tricky thing to master, much less control, and he couldn’t imagine being a human and dealing with it, with little to no support. And it didn’t sound like this friend was in wonderful condition to start with.

And he wouldn’t be adverse to seeing Patton, of course. The pixie did have a way of soothing his mind, and he wouldn’t mind checking up on Deceit. 

“Still playin with shadows, babes? Thought you got bored of that party trick.” Logan froze, stiffening at the voice. He let his breath hiss out through his teeth, slowly turning. 

He stood in an alcove against the wall, leaning against it in the shadows, his dark leather jacket helping him blend in. His dark glasses covered his light sensitive eyes, his clothes fitted to him so tight Logan wondered how in the world he got them on and off. 

“Remy. How did you get in here?” He asked, and Remy smirked, glasses slipping down his face to reveal glittering black eyes. 

“Please. You know I can get into anywhere I want.” Remy vanished. Logan whirled at a tap on his shoulder, spinning back around as Remy’s laugh rang out. He glared at the dark fae doubled over with laughter. 

“Dude, I can’t believe that still works on you! Like, come on, fam!” He was gasping in breath, wiping away tears of mirth, and Logan folded his arms. 

“Why are you here, Remy? I don’t recall inviting you.” He said, coldly, and Remy straightened, something almost like sadness flashing across his face. 

“You didn’t. Nice digs, though. You did really well for yourself, working your way into the Princes’ trust.” 

“I didn’t work my way into anything. I earned it, through hard work and through careful ministrations of care.” Remy softened, sighing, pushing his glasses back up. 

“I know. And I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t important. I know you’d rather not be associated with us, not that I can blame you. I’ll just tell you what I’ve heard, then go.” Remy said, tugging at his sleeves, which hid the silver markings on his arms that matched Logan’s, marking them as members of the same clan. 

“Fine. Follow me. We can talk in the library.” Without another word, Logan turned, stalking down the hall in the opposite direction, heading towards his favorite place in the castle, hearing Remy follow him three steps behind.

He took a deep breath, feeling his shoulders relax as he stepped into the library, taking in the ceiling high shelves lined with endless tomes, the warm light that filled the room through the giant, arcing windows, dust motes dancing in the sunbeams. 

He made his way through the maze of shelves, to his favorite table in the very back corner, right next to a giant window. He ran his hand fondly over the worn wood before sinking into the chair, hands steepled on the table as he looked up at Remy, who leaned against the window carelessly, squinting in the face of the light.

“Had to choose literally the brightest place in the castle, Earnst?” Logan’s eyes narrowed at the use of his surname, and Remy sighed, slouching back farther.

“There’s talk, rumors. You know I made sure the info was good, snuck around a few places, cashed few favors. There’s a newcomer in the game. Someone calling themselves the Dragon Witch. I don’t know much, but I know they’re gathering forces in the depths of the Night Woods, and I know they have a vendetta against Everthorn.” 

“Which means they’re acting with either the permission or permittance of the dark fae.” Logan murmured, leaning back in the chair, tapping his fingers against the table in thought. 

“Exactly.” Logan frowned, looking back at Remy. 

“Surely you’d know if they were outright helping?” Remy snorted, looking at Logan over the top of his glasses. 

“Babe, I know you haven’t been around recently, but I’m not exactly on the up and up. Haven’t been for a while. I was only passing through the area when I started hearing talk. No one even knew I was there.” Remy was still slouched, but his carefree attitude had shifted, posture stiffening. 

“Oh. I… was not aware that you… had left?” Remy laughed dryly. 

“Yeah, you could say that. Took a page out of your book and started thinking for myself. S’pose that was my first mistake.” 

“Rem… why are you here?” Logan asked, softening for the first time since he’d laid eyes on his cousin. 

“Cause I thought you oughta know.” 

“Rem-“ 

“I’ll let ya know if I get anything else. It was nice to see ya, Earnst, even if you didn’t enjoy it. I’ll be around.” With a small wave, Remy vanished, not even his footsteps giving him away. 

If Remy was anything, it was stealthy, which was surprising, given his usually loud and outspoken nature. Logan didn’t doubt his claims that he could sneak into anywhere, he’d been proved wrong over and over in the past after challenging Remy’s assertion.

He also believed Remy’s information. He was many things, but he wasn’t a liar, especially with not how serious he’d been when speaking. That almost worried him more than the information Remy had shared. 

“Remy, I don’t know if you’re still here. I’m probably talking to myself. But… thank you. And you are invited back, as long as you only cause minimal amounts of trouble. I know asking for no trouble from you would be unrealistic.” Logan said, getting to his feet and pushing in his chair. He swore he heard the sound of soft footsteps against carpet, but he couldn’t be sure. 

“Dragon Witch.” The name sounded familiar, though he couldn’t quite place it. Still, anything the fae of the Night Woods were involved in didn’t bode well, especially for Everthorn. 

He rubbed his forehead. The dark fae had always had a vendetta against the fae of Everthorn. If asked, they would say they’d been the rightful rulers. The light fae rose up and banished them to the Night Woods, as they came to be known, because they wanted the whole kingdom for themselves. They had been persecuted and discriminated against until they rose up against the light fae, and many battles later, they had devastatingly lost. 

He had believed it when he was younger, too. How could he not, it was in all their history books, it was the basis of their existence, forced out of the light and into the dark, for defending our land and our crown. Yes, the dark fae had a chip on their shoulder, and an axe to grind, and given the chance and the resources, they would act on it gladly. 

But there were descrepencies. Books from the outside, elderly fae who had vague memories of childhood spent in the light, stories of what really happened. The kingdom of Everthorn had once been ruled by the two separate courts, the dark fae and the light fae.

But it was the dark fae rulers who got greedy, who wanted more, who planned and schemed and assassinated the ruler of the light court, taking both crowns for themselves. That was why the light fae had rebelled against them, rose up and cast them out. Because they had betrayed the kingdom, broken the peace so carefully forged, overturned the precarious balance of the realm.

These truths had turned his world upside down. He had left after confronting the clan ruler about his suspicions. He could have stayed, if he apologized, renounced his claims, never spoke of it again. But part of him was prideful and stubborn, and he knew he was right, so he left, instead. He hadn’t been back since then.

He’d wandered from kingdom to kingdom, realm to realm, for a time, gathering knowledge and information, studying every magic he could, determined to master them all, until he found himself outside the gates of the one place he hadn’t dared to go, knowing the history between his clan and theirs. 

Everthorn. 

He’d expected the suspicion and scorn he received. There was no mistaking what he was, it was literally written all over his skin, in the silver that traced itself up his arms, that dotted his face. 

Still, Thomas had accepted him so easily, allowing him access to the books and lore and magic of Everthorn. Thomas had found him spending many a late night in the library. He’d sit down, ask a question, and they’d end up discussing history, debating philosophy, talking politics until dawn light started breaking through the windows. 

Roman had been two. Remus had been a baby. He’d tried everything, every magic, every potion and spell and ritual he could think of, that might help. But nothing had worked. Thomas had just gotten sicker. 

He was surprised, when Thomas named him guardian of the boys. He shouldn’t have been, but he was. Because deep down, he didn’t think anyone else would agree, would allow it, he was frankly surprised given his lineage that people weren’t outright blaming him for Thomas’s illness and subsequent… death. 

But without realizing it, without even really meaning to, he’d built himself a family, in Everthorn. It was no secret the boys loved him, his patience was legendary, he’d always helped anyone who came to him for assistance, he’d been a constant in the castle for years, now, and it turned out he was the only one surprised to find him raising the princes. 

It nearly broke him, how much they all trusted him. How much Thomas had trusted him. He hadn’t realized how much his friendship had meant to him, until he was gone. But he didn’t have time to mourn. He had Roman trying to run off every second of the day to adventure, trying to find secret passages or fight monsters, and as soon as Remus could walk, so was he. 

It was chaos, which would normally drive him mad, and gods know those two did drive him up the wall, exasperate and infuriate him in equal measure, and he worried to no end for their safety, but he loved them. He rarely said it out loud, but they knew, everyone did.

And if his clan was planning something, if this Dragon Witch came knocking, it didn’t matter that they were his blood. He would defend Everthorn to his last breath, and he would destroy anyone who dared threaten his boys. Because that was his job. That was the last thing he’d promised Thomas. And he’d be damned if he failed his king now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know I can't resist some of my sassy sleep boi.   
> Also this story in my docs is now at 140 pages. It is out of control and I'm so excited to share it all with you guys!


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman and Remus have some fun, and Patton talks with Virgil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FLUFF LOOK AT ALL THE FLUFF ARE YOU HAPPY YET?

“Remus! Wait up!” Roman called, chasing after his brother, who flashed him a grin, before taking off down the hall as fast as he could go. Roman laughed, giving chase. 

They wound through corridors, Roman throwing magic down the hall, vines exploding out of the ground where his power hit, trying to wrap around Remus, who skidded around a corner, tossing a ball of flame backwards, exploding the vines in a flash of light that stunned Roman. 

“Son of a bitch!” He growled, rubbing his eyes to clear them, face falling in confusion as he rounded the corner after Remus, who was now nowhere to be seen. He frowned, hand on the hilt of his sword as he slowly advanced. It was far too silent. 

Every creak of the floor sent his pulse racing, his sword now drawn, the weight comforting in his hands. 

“What’s wrong, brother dear, you seem a little on edge!” Remus’s voice rang out from everywhere and nowhere, echoing off the stone walls. He cursed his brother’s skill at illusions. He spun in a slow circle, eyes looking for the slight waver of air that would give away Remus’s position.

“Show yourself, fiend!” He called dramatically, smiling as Remus’s best dark and sinister laugh rang out. He’d heard it enough times when playing these games, he should be used to it, but it still sent a chill down his spine. 

Roman saw something out of the corner of his eye, and with a yelp he jerked back, just in time to avoid Remus dropping on top of him from the ceiling, morning star swinging in a wide arc, feral smile on his face as their weapons clashed. 

Roman barely blocked the blow, off balance, and Remus used it to his advantage, pushing forwards, Roman’s back against the wall as they each pushed with all their might. 

Then Roman twisted his sword, using Remus’s momentum against him, sending the Morningstar in a wide arc. He used those few seconds to roll under Remus’s arm and out from the wall, recovering in a ready stance in the middle of the hall. Remus faced him, grin wide and eyes nearly glowing as he twirled his weapon, circling Roman, who turned with him, eyes alight. 

“Nearly got me with that ambush, Ree.” Roman commented, slightly panting, eyes locked on Remus, ready for any movement.

“Ah, thanks. What about the laugh, too much?” 

“No, it was pretty good, the echo really added-“ He swung upwards in a parry as Remus charged, metal clashing against metal as their weapons met. For a furious few minutes, his only focus was Remus’s Morningstar, was the pattern of parries and feints, dodges and rolls. Soon sweat was dripping down his face, into his eyes. Remus was faster, and it was hard to keep up in these close quarters. 

Then he slipped his sword under the hilt of the Morningstar, twisting sharply, Remus letting out a yelp as it went flying backwards across the hall, clanging against the ground. Remus rolled back, trying to reach it, to give himself distance, but Roman didn’t let him. Pressing his advantage, he swung, pinning Remus to the ground at sword point, victorious smile on his face. 

“Do you surrender, traitor?” He demanded, tone belied by the breathless smile on his face. Remus smirked, letting out a cackle, as he vanished. Roman’s mouth formed an O. 

“Never.” Came the whisper in his ear, and before he could react, he was tackled to the ground, Remus pinning him to the floor. 

“Oh, have mercy, you scurrilous scoundrel!” Roman laughed, sensing Remus’s grin as he flipped over, so they were face to face.

“Not even in your dreams!” Then he leaned in, hands finding Roman’s armpits as he tickled Roman mercilessly. 

“Ree… noooo…. Stop, please…gods, when will it end!?” Roman cried dramatically as he gasped for breath between giggles, until Remus was laughing so hard he couldn’t see straight, and flopped onto the floor beside Roman. They both lay there in silence, trying to catch their breaths for a few moments, before Remus sat up. 

“Seriously though, cackle, yea or nay?” He asked, making Roman giggle again, rolling onto his side and sitting up as well. 

“Combined with the disappearing act, it worked rather well. You always get me with that trick.” Roman commented, running a hand through his hair, pushing it out of his face. Remus laughed as it stuck straight up in a disheveled mess. 

“Well, I always have been the smarter one.” He grinned as Roman elbowed him gently, head thrown back in a laugh. 

“Shut up.” 

“Uh, bitch, you shut up!” Roman snorted. 

“Careful, use that language around Patton and you might just get a stern talking too.” Roman teased, wagging his finger, yelping as Remus pulled him into a headlock, noogying his head. 

“Awww is my bwig bwother afwaid of me getting into twouble?” He asked, as Roman shoved him off with a lighthearted groan. 

“I absolutely hate you right now. How dare you speak like that in my presence?” Remus blinked up at him with puppy dog eyes. 

“Whatever do you mean, bwig bwother?” He lost himself in cackles as Roman groaned again, sticking his fingers in his ears and humming to himself to block out Remus. 

“Alright, alright, I’m done!” Remus said, as Roman unplugged his ears. “Why were you chasing after me in the first place, Ro?” Roman frowned slightly, tilting his head as he hummed in thought, face reddening. 

“I… um… don’t actually remember anymore.” Remus rolled his eyes. 

“Of course you don’t. Well, I’m going to get cleaned up, then check in with Patty cake and Dee and their new/old human friend. Leaving in half an hour, if you wanna meet me by the gates?” 

“Not like I’ve got anything else on my plate for the rest of the day. Might as well!” Roman replied. “Fun duel, by the by, do it again soon!” Roman called, as he skipped off down the hall, back to his own room for a quick bath. 

“Always when you least expect it!” Remus called back, chuckling to himself as he too strode off, whistling happily. 

And in the shadows, Remy smirked, sipping a drink and shaking his head. That was the most entertainment he’d had in years. No wonder his cous loved the kids, they were a riot! It’d be a challenge, keeping up with the two of them, but he’d manage. Sticking close was his plan for the moment, after all, and besides, it seemed like he’d never be bored.

…   
Virgil smelled something. It smelled… good. He was warm too, nice and cozy. He felt something soft and heavy on top of him, and he almost went back to sleep, but he heard noises, and sleepily, he blinked open his eyes, remembering where he was. 

He felt his panic spike again at that thought, but he took a couple deep breaths in through his nose and out through his mouth. Damien said it was alright, and he trusted Damien. And… and Patton did seem nice. And Damien was dating a fae prince. 

His stomach grumbled loudly as he sat up, wincing a bit at the pounding in his head, noticing someone had left a pitcher of water on the table. He gratefully poured a cup, realizing now how thirsty he’d been. 

He heard footsteps, and looked up to see Patton peeking into the room, an almost blinding smile flashing across his face as he saw Virgil sitting up and alert. 

“Hey, kiddo. How you feeling?” He asked, softly, which Virgil was grateful for. He pulled the blanket around him a little tighter, awkward and unsure. 

“B-better, I think. My head hurts, a bit.” He replied, fiddling with the blanket. “I’m sorry.” He said in a rush, not looking up and missing the confusion that settled on Patton’s face. Slowly, he sat down on the couch, far enough away to give Virgil his space. 

“For what?” Virgil shrugged, eyes flicking to him, then away. 

“For… for my magic. I know it’s bad, and I tried to keep it in, but I just… couldn’t. And it hurt you, didn’t it?” Patton smiled warmly, moving a bit closer. 

“Your magic isn’t bad, kiddo. And it didn’t do anything other than give me a headache, in the long run. It wasn’t your fault. Magic is hard to control when you’re feeling strongly. It’s normal. Now, can I feel your forehead? I wanna see how that fever’s doing.” Virgil nodded, and Patton counted the small smile tugging at the kid’s face a win as he rested the back of his hand to Virgil’s forehead for a moment. It was warm, but Virgil was snuggled under the blankets, and he didn’t seem to be shivering anymore. 

“You fought that off quick. You’ll still take another dose of the medicine tonight, just to be safe, but for now, would you like to eat something? I made some chicken dumpling soup. It’s always my favorite, when I’m not feeling good.” Virgil nodded, pushing his hair back, flushing as his stomach rumbled even louder. 

“Alright, alright, you don’t have to yell, Mr. Belly, one bowl of soup, coming right up!” Patton exclaimed, poking Virgil’s belly, the kid giving a surprised snort of laughter, meeting Patton’s eyes and smiling as he left the room. In the kitchen, Patton fist pumped the air, having to refrain from screaming with joy. 

Finally, Virgil was feeling something. And it was happiness, and safety, and comfort. He could feel tears of happiness forming in his eyes at the waves of contentment and okayness radiating from Virgil, and he took a moment to compose himself back into calm before returning into the living room, not wanting to spook him, but unable to hide the grin that seemed plastered to his face. Virgil ate quickly, setting the bowl on the table when he was done, looking curiously around the room. 

“Dee’ll be right back. I made him go outside and take a walk, he’s been watching over you all day, and needed some fresh air.” Patton answered the unspoken question, noticing how Virgil almost imperceptibly relaxed. 

“Y’know, I know someone with magic just like yours.” That got Virgil’s attention. His eyes shot to Patton’s, looking almost stricken. “He’s one of the smartest, kindest people I know.” A small wistful smile flitted across Patton’s face, and Virgil looked down. 

“Doesn’t sound anything like me, then.” He muttered. “I’m not any of those things. I’m not even smart enough to know when to shut up.” He mumbled. Patton flinched at the wash of negativity that flooded through Virgil, the level of self hatred and doubt nearly breaking his heart. 

“I don’t think that’s true. Dee seems to think very highly of you. And you’ve managed your magic all on your own, so far. But you don’t have to do it on your own anymore, if you don’t want to.” Virgil bit his lip, processing Patton’s words, though he didn’t believe them, he was at least listening. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Well, I don’t have shadow magic, like you, but I can teach you some basics that might help when it feels like you’re gonna be overwhelmed, and I’m sure Logan would be ecstatic to have someone to teach. If you want, that is, of course you don’t have to if you’re not comfortable with it.” He realized Virgil was looking at him with wide, surprised eyes, as if he’d just learned something new for the first time. 

“You ok, bud?” Virgil swallowed past the lump in his throat, nodding. 

“yeah… I think I’d like that. To learn. It… I’ve always been scared of it. But I don’t wanna be, anymore. I don’t have to be, here. I won’t… I won’t let them make me afraid of myself, anymore.” Virgil’s voice was shaky, but Patton felt a surge of pride at the determination in his voice, that sparked in his eyes, and he found himself grinning again, and all he could think was that Logan was going to absolutely adore this kid. He did already. 

“That sounds wonderful. Now, what do you want to be called?” Virgil looked at him in puzzlement. “I mean, you can tell your name to a fae and be fine, but the wording can be tricky, and I don’t want you accidentally giving away your name, so it’s better to have a filler, a nickname of some kind, to use around others.” 

“Oh. That makes sense, yeah. Um… how about… Anxiety? That’s what makes up most of my personality anyways.” He asked tentatively, another small smile lighting up his face as Patton nodded. 

“Anxiety. That’s perfect.” He squeezed Virgil’s leg once, deciding to tackle Virgil’s self worth issues later and let it slide for now, looking up at the sound of hooves outside. He huffed fondly, noting the tension had returned to Virgil. 

“Some friends of mine. They’re friendly and won’t hurt you, I promise. You wanna go meet them?” Virgil wanted to say no, and burrow back under his blanket, but if he was going to stop being afraid, he had to start somewhere.

“Sure.” He mumbled, following a nearly skipping Patton out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you should also be afraid because what is fluff without the angst?


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman meets the new human, and Deceit and Remus are a mushy couple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have some fluff, prepare for angst!

“I mean, how’d you even get on the ceiling anyway?” Roman asked as they rode, nearing Patton’s house. 

“Trust me, you don’t wanna know.” Remus answered. 

“Fishing line? You rigged a grappling hook? You have secret levitation powers you’re too selfish to share with me?” Roman pressed, making Remus roll his eyes. 

“Can neither confirm nor deny, brother dear!” His eyes lit up as he saw a splash of yellow against the thinning trees. “Now, I have a serpent to charm. Meet you there, Ro!” He called, mischief flashing in his eyes as he spurred Freya on, dodging through the trees. 

Damien had been grumbling to himself about being forced away from Virgil, only leaving because he knew Patton would take care of him, and that Virgil would respond well to Patton if he woke up without him there. 

Still, it was nice outside. The sun shone through the trees, spattering the ground in golden light that warmed his skin. He lifted his face into the soft summer breeze, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply. Gods, he hadn’t felt this relaxed ever in his life. Even the air here smelled sweeter, a mix of earthy grass and soft flowers. He had needed the fresh air, after all. He understood why Patton chose to live out here, it was so quiet and nice and calm-

He felt preasure around his waist, then he was swooped up, the trees speeding past him, wind rushing in his ears, his pulse racing as his mind scrambled to make sense of what was going on. Then he recognized the black shirt he was pressed against, the wild whoop of laughter and his eyes narrowed. 

“REMUS! What the fuck!” He screamed, glaring up at the fae’s electric green eyes, which only danced with more mirth. 

“What, didn’t expect to get swept off your feet?” Remus asked giddily, and despite himself, Damien felt himself start to smile, Remus’s wild joy was infectious. 

“I wasn’t expecting to get terrified half to death, no! You can’t just grab people, Ree!” He scolded, but the anger had drained out of him along with his surprise. 

“Ah, but you are not just a person. You are my person, and I can do whatever I like with you.” Remus replied, slowing Freya to a trot, eyes sparkling with something unreadable that would make lesser men tremble. Damien didn’t tremble. 

Instead he leaned closer, caressing a hand along Remus’s jawline and down his neck, pausing a moment over his pulse, before coming to rest on the center of Remus’s chest, smirking at Remus’s sudden stillness. 

“Oh? And what would you order me to do, prince of fae?” He purred, feeling Remus’s arm tighten around his waist, closing the centimeter of distance between their bodies, so they were flush against each other. 

“Kiss me.” Came the breathy reply, and Damien let out a low chuckle, reaching up and idly twirling a strand of Remus’s hair, who tilted his head down so they were eye to eye, lips nearly touching. 

“You needn’t order that from me. That I give you willingly.” Then he closed the distance and was lost in the feel of Remus against him, Remus’s hands on his waist, his hands entwined in Remus’s hair, the only sensation he was aware of was Remus’s lips against his, the warmth of his body, his hands on his waist, the silkiness of his hair, he was drowning in every touch against his skin, his senses screaming with adrenaline, leaving him shaky as Remus finally pulled back, both of them gasping for breath, faces flushed and hearts pounding. 

“Patton will be wondering where we went off to.” Damien said softly, voice rough and husky, and Remus kissed him again on the lips, hard and fierce, then traced his jaw in kisses, under his ear, along his neck, the base of his throat, where his pulse raced, before he pulled back, resting his forehead against Damien’s, so filled with love and adoration he was almost at a loss for words. 

“Remus… gods, Ree.” Damien murmured, breathless, every atom in his body acutely attuned to Remus’s. 

“I love you.” Remus said suddenly, eyes burning with ferocity. “I love you more than anything else in the entire cosmos. You are my heart and my home and everything I ever needed. I will never, never get tired of loving you.”

“Good. Because you’d have a hell of a time trying to get rid of me.” He murmured in reply, grinning as he felt Remus’s soft laugh against his face. 

“I don’t doubt it, my beloved slippery serpent. Shall we head off before Roman sends out a search party?” Damien laughed, pulling back, but not out of Remus’s hold. 

“Sounds delightful, darling.” He yelped as Remus once again spurred on Freya to full speed, holding tight to Remus. 

“I get the feeling you’re doing that on purpose!” He called over the wind rushing in his ears. 

“Probably because I am!” Came the shameless reply, and Damien could only laugh. There was something in Remus’s wildness that brought forth his own, that spurred him to match his uncontained emotions, that made him look forward to every new dawn, every new day a new excitement, and he loved it, loved the person Remus helped him to be, loved that he loved him. How had he ever, ever, gotten this lucky? 

…  
“Ah, Patton! How is my favorite little pixie today?” Roman asked as he heard the door open. He was tying his horse, Hathor, to a tree. His appaloosa mare had a tendency to wander if left to her own devices, and he’d had to track her down more times than he was willing to admit. 

“Better now that you’re here to brighten my day!” Patton replied, and Roman laughed, turning around to fire back some witty comment that died on his tongue. 

Oh  
Oh shit. 

His gay little heart was about to explode. Because standing slightly behind Patton, was the most exquisite creature he’d ever seen. 

His hair was dark and hung over his eyes, he was skinny, and his face was sharp and angular, dark shadows under his eyes, but despite his slouched posture, something about him spoke of inner strength, determination, pure, fierce, survival. 

Their eyes met for a moment, before the human looked away, but he could see how deep and dark they were, as if he had seen Hell and was no longer afraid of it. His soul seemed older than any human’s could, than any fae’s, and Roman wanted to hear his story, wanted to know everything about him, wanted to draw out the smile he could feel below the surface, wash the tension out of every muscle, wanted to hear him laugh, make him laugh, Gods, wouldn’t that be the most beautiful sound? 

“Roman? You okay?” He blinked, shaking himself out of his stupor, realizing Patton had been trying to talk to him for quite a while now while he just stared dumbly at the human. 

“Ahem. Yes, of course, apologies. What were you saying, Patton?” He ignored the way his face flushed at Patton’s eyebrow raise, ignoring the fact that Patton definitely knew what he’d just been feeling and thinking, saved as they looked up at the sound of hooves, Freya practically prancing to a stop next to Hathor, without Remus even having to say a word. 

“See? Why can’t you do that? Remus, how does your horse have better manners than mine?” Roman complained as Hathor ignored his insult. Remus laughed, dismounting, holding his arms out to Damien, who grinned, purposefully sliding off so Remus had to catch his waist to save him from falling. 

“Maybe because I actually trained Freya, and you feed Hathor sugar cubes for, and I quote, being the bestest, prettiest little horsie there ever was?” Remus asked, making Patton burst into giggles, Roman’s face grow red, and Virgil snort out a small laugh, which made Roman jealous. If Remus could do it, he’d definitely have a laugh by the end of the day. 

“You can let go now, darling.” Damien commented, Remus’s hands still on his waist. The fae smiled, looking down at him. 

“Who says I want to?” Damien hummed in thought. 

“Excellent point, but our days may get awkward if we are constantly tethered to one another.” 

“But then I get to spend every moment of every day with you. I can think of nothing better.” Remus murmured, leaning down and kissing Damien softly, before allowing him to slip out of his hold. Roman groaned. 

“Get a room, you two!” 

“Aw, I think it’s sweet! I think you two are adorable!” Patton commented. 

“Hear that? The mighty prince Remus of Everthorn, also known as The Adorable.” Damien said, with a flourishing bow. 

“If I’m the adorable, then you must be Sir Deceit of Two Realms, The Enthralling.” Remus shot back. 

“Oh my goooood. Please stoooop. We get it, you’re in love, the whole world knows at this point.” Roman groaned jokingly, chuckling as Remus elbowed him, not hard enough to hurt. 

“They’d better. Otherwise I’ll just have to sing his praises to everyone we meet until I’m certain the whole world does know!” 

“Kinda’d love to see that.” The human hovering behind Patton muttered, and Damien rolled his eyes. 

“You would.” Damien replied, sticking his tongue out at Virgil, who just rolled his eyes again. 

Honestly, he had no idea what to make of them, these two fae princes. Listening to their banter, how openly Remus adored Dee, and Dee, Remus, how delighted Patton seemed at it all, he just didn’t know what to do with himself. 

Being this close to so many fae, so many powerful fae, all at once, was making his skin crawl, setting off his fight or flight instincts, and he wanted to bolt into the trees and make a break for it, but his own fear and apprehension kept him in place. 

His eyes flicked up for a moment, meeting those of Roman’s. The fae was looking at him curiously, almost wonderingly, and instantly his gaze shot back to the ground. 

Damien trusts them, Damien trusts them, Damien trusts them. That was the mantra he kept repeating to himself as Patton ushered them all inside, as they all took places in the living room and chatted. He chose a chair in the corner of the room, as far from the others as possible, pulling his legs up onto the seat. He could feel his pulse thrumming, and forced himself to breathe, to swallow down the power he could feel threatening to well up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I COULDN'T RESIST THE SHIPPING ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?!


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman befriends Virgil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not posting last week! I've gotten a little swept up in a loot of other works, so progress on this one is a bit slower than it had been. That being said, chapters of this are gonna be posted a little more sporadically, so the schedule thing is kinda out the window. 
> 
> Anyways, thanks for reading!

Damien was lost in conversation with Remus, the two unbearably flirting, Patton throwing his own puns into the mix that made everyone groan. It was too much, too many people, too much energy, too much going on. Quietly, he slipped out of the chair and out the back door, eyes lighting up as he saw an old oak tree overhanging the roof. Perfect. 

Damien noticed Virgil getting up from the corner of his eye, but made no move to show he’d seen. He felt Patton’s questioning look and shook his head. Virgil just needed his space. He’d come back when he felt ready. 

He didn’t notice Roman looking at the vacated chair with a soft frown, eyes tracking the flash of purple of the human’s jacket as he vanished out the door. He met his brother’s eyes, who cocked his head, tipping it towards the door. 

What are you waiting for? Go find him. Remus’s gaze said. 

What if he doesn’t want me around? If he’s scared of me? Roman replied by biting his lip. Remus rolled his eyes, and made a shooing motion. He let out a soft sigh and stood, making some excuse about needing to check on his horse. 

It probably wasn’t a lie, either, Hathor was too clever for her own good, and had probably slipped the knot he’d used to tether her to the tree.  
…

Virgil let out a relieved breath as he sat cross legged on the roof of Patton’s house. It was just barely slanted, and the wood of the shingles was warm in the soft sunlight. The breeze was gentle against his face and there was plenty of space, no one else around, no fae to worry about up here. 

“Hathor! Get back here, you rascal!” The shout rang out clear as day, and Virgil peeked over the edge of the roof, raising a brow as he saw Roman chasing a horse through the clearing around the house. The horse seemed to be playing more than making any real escape attempt, snorting and prancing in place as Roman lunged at her, dodging just before he could reach, leaving the fae sprawled on the ground. 

“Why do you do this to me? Freya’s behaving!” the fae groaned, rolling over so he laid on his back, arm flung dramatically over his face. Hathor whinnied, shaking her mane, prancing coming to a stop as Roman didn’t get up. 

The horse approached Roman slowly, pawing nervously at the ground as she dipped her nose, snuffing against Roman’s hair. With a shout, Roman lunged up, grabbing her nose, lifted off the ground as she reared in surprise. 

Roman laughed as his feet touched back down on the ground, Hathor lowering her nose as Roman stroked it softly, resting his forehead against hers, scratching her cheeks. 

“Yes, there’s the good horsie, who’s a good girl? Are you a good girl? Yes you are, yes you are, Hathor, such a good girl.” He cooed, laughing again as Hathor huffed in his face. 

“Now. You haven’t happened to see that human have you?” Virgil froze at the mention of himself. He’d been resting with his chin on his hands at the edge of the roof, watching how this played out with an amused smile, not even having noticed how he’d relaxed watching Roman’s antics. 

What did he want? Why was Roman looking for him? No one else knew where he was, what would Roman do if he got him alone? Damien may be under Remus’s protection, but that protection didn’t extend to him. 

“Because Gods, he’s beautiful.” Wait, what? 

“Wait, what?” His face blanched as he realized he’d spoken out loud, Roman’s surprised eyes meeting his. Fuck, oh fuck. 

“How… how did you even get up there?” Roman asked, letting go of Hathor, not noticing her prancing away. 

“C-climbed. Tree.” He stuttered out, pointing towards the oak. He fisted his hands into his pockets, feeling them shaking. He almost relaxed as Roman rounded the house out of view, tensing again as he heard the tree shaking, before Roman jumped onto the roof, grinning widely. 

“Take that, foul tree! I have bested you!” Virgil almost let out a shaky laugh, would have if he wasn’t so nervous as Roman turned to him. He quickly looked away, unable to meet those molten eyes for more than a second.

“What… what do you want?” Vigil asked, impressed as his voice almost came out steady. 

“I would like to get to know you.” Was Roman’s soft reply, as he knelt down a good distance from the human, sensing his discomfort and fear. Virgil snorted in disbelief. 

“Why? It’s not like I’m anyone special. It’s not like I’m… I’m worth anything.” Virgil replied, failing to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

“Now that I don’t believe for a moment.” Virgil let out a broken laugh. 

“You wanna know me? Fine. I have highly dangerous, uncontrolled magic that only tears things apart and ruins everything. I never spoke up, I never said anything, I never drew attention to myself back home, because no one could know. I never defended Dee in front of the village, except to try and make them leave him alone. My parents were distant, we were never close, they were never affectionate, I spent most of my time alone somewhere. The only friend I ever had was Dee, he’s the only one who ever tried to help me, the only one who didn’t ignore me or bully me or exclude me because he thought I was weird. I was never going to amount to anything, we all knew it. 

Then I was terrible to the only person who ever cared, and I abandoned him, and he was tortured and I wasn’t there and we ended up here. I’m bad and dangerous and useless. Now you know everything about me. Happy?” He bit out, hunching into himself. 

“And what would they have done to you, if they’d known about your magic?” Roman asked gently. Virgil let out a low breath. “They did plenty, when I first showed it and didn’t know to hide yet.”

He remembered. He remembered that night. People, in his room, ambushing him before he knew what was happening. Wrists and ankles tied to the bedframe as he tried to escape, panic making his breath short and his chest tight. 

“Moma… what… please…” He pled, feeling his shadows start to swirl, start to whisper. 

“It’s for your own good, Virgil. We’ll free you from Astoroth’s influence.” Astoroth. The lord of the underworld, god of the dark, the depths, the dead. A bad omen, a sign of evil, a mark of shame. That’s what his magic was to them. 

The priest had prayed as panic made him writhe, try and struggle free, the ropes cutting into his skin, his vision going red as fear fear fear fear ate him up from the inside out until he couldn’t breathe, until he passed out. 

They’d starved him for days. They’d beaten him until he was broken. They’d burned him with holy oil and choked him on incense smoke until he was so worn down there was no energy left for his magic to feed on, until he almost convinced himself it had fled, until he knew every word they had said to him to be true. 

He learned to hide it after that. He learned to shove it so deep inside himself it wouldn’t show until he was so full he was going to explode if he didn’t let it out. He learned not to get close to anyone after that. He learned not to trust anyone, not to speak to anyone, not to look at anyone, least of all his parents. He was quiet, he was obedient, he was a loner, and he had never, never let himself feel safe ever again. 

He found his clearing, made his tree house, not long after. He was only ten, it wasn’t much at first. Just a platform up an easily climable tree. He’d found the spot the first time he felt the power build to an unstoppable level and he needed to run, run, get out, get out, get away, before they could see- 

And it was painful, gods, it hurt, the shadows exploding from his chest, from his fingertips, from his own shadow, splitting off of him, from him, like tearing pieces from his soul, and it burned, it left bile in his throat as they swirled and lashed out wildly and screamed in whispers their rage and fear and agony, and he knew that pain, it had all, all come from him and the darkness inside filled him with shame. 

It wasn’t nearly the last time, but it was the first and the hardest and the scariest and the most painful. But Damien had arrived soon after, and immediately taken him in, this small, broken child, that must have reminded Damien of himself, and they grew close, and Damien taught him some basics, enough to control the explosions of power, enough so they didn’t completely tear him apart, though they were still unpredictable. But things had been a bit better after that. 

He’d never told Damien what they’d done, he was too ashamed of it, too hurt by even the thought of it, much less saying it aloud, to ever speak it. It was most of why he was so afraid of learning anything, of applying to a school, of finding a teacher. He knew he would just get rejected, just get hurt, just get found out and punished again. He couldn’t do it again. 

Then he’d torn the village apart and set it aflame. Really, it was less than they deserved. They deserved to be hurt, to be torn apart themselves, but even at his worst he couldn’t bring himself to actually harm them. Weak. That’s what he was. What he’d always been. And he knew it.

“I am sorry for it. But you haven’t done anything wrong. You didn’t do anything to earn their scorn or their punishment. You did what you had to, in order to protect yourself. There is no shame in that. That in itself is brave.” Virgil folded his arms over his knees, shaking his head. 

“I’m not brave. I’m not anything.” Roman hummed in thought, hating that defeated look in the human’s eyes, that dimmed his spark, hating more the people whom had caused it. 

“What’s your favorite color?” He asked, reclining on the roof, laying down so he was looking up at the near cloudless sky. He heard the human shuffle, probably getting a better look at him, but he didn’t shift his eyes to see. The human didn’t like to make eye contact, and he wanted to ease their worries, he wanted them to feel safe, he wanted to be seen as not a threat. 

“Um… purple, I guess.” Roman nodded. 

“Purple’s good. Mine is red, and Remus’s green, hence the sashes.” He let silence drift over them for a moment. 

“How about… favorite animal?” He could sense the human’s puzzled expression, but after a moment, heard him shrug. 

“Cat, ‘suppose. People always say they’re assholes, but those people probably aren’t treating them right to begin with.” Roman let out a small chuckle. 

“Patton’s loathe to choose, but he’s always been a cat person as well. Even though he’s allergic, he pets every one he sees. Logan is always complaining about having to whip up his tonic to help ease his symptoms. I think he’s more pleased than he lets on, though. They’re crushing hard on each other.” Roman confided. He could feel the human hesitating, as if they were going to say something, but were afraid. He waited, not making a sound, simply gazing up at the sky. 

“What’s… what’s yours? Favorite animal, I mean.” Roman smiled at the rushed question. 

“Hmm, I would say horses, if mine would behave herself!” He shouted, rolling his eyes as he heard Hathor’s distant offended neigh, “but I suppose it’s phoenixes. Their ability to be reborn over and over again is astonishing, and when in flight, they look as if they are aflame, the sun catching their feathers, their long tails, their burning crimson wings… truly a sight to behold.” He tried not to move or show any signs of excitement as he heard shuffling, quickly glancing over then away to see the human lying down on the roof in the same way as Roman had, also moving a bit closer, so they were only 6 inches apart instead of the nearly one and a half feet of before. 

Virgil was indeed looking at Roman closely. He was impossibly beautiful, impossibly regal and imposing, practically glowing with warmth in the light of the sun. It was laughable, really, that Roman had called him beautiful in comparison to that. He was probably just messing with him. Still, he did feel less nervous around the fae, less afraid. His presence was calming, in a way. He sighed, and looked away, before the fae caught him watching. 

“Those… those are real? Pheonixes?” He asked awkwardly, feeling like too long had passed in the silence. 

“Oh yes! Most creatures you consider mythical are real. Chimeras, sea serpents, unicorns, pegasi, rocs, dragons, basilisks… the list goes on and on. Most of them are fairly remote, only encountered in the wilds. Every once in a while something or other attacks an outlying farm or a small settlement, roves too near the castle in the forest, and we have to take care of it.” He felt Virgil shiver, and looked over to see him frowning as he looked up at the sky. 

“That… sounds scary.” 

“You needn’t worry, my dear dark knight. I’ll protect you from any creature who dares threaten you harm.” Roman proclaimed, voice boisterous, but eyes serious, making sure when the human looked over he could see the truth in them. “I promise.” He murmured, getting lost in those midnight dark eyes, smile slipping across his face at the human’s surprise. Evidently he knew the strength of a fae promise. 

Carefully, slowly, so slowly, the human could easily pull away if he wanted, Roman reached out a hand, tucking the human’s hair back, stroking his cheek just once before drawing his hand away, noting the soft pink tinge to the human’s face only inches from his. They had both turned, laying on their sides facing each other, the human using one arm to pillow his head, the other laying across his chest. He seemed to be staring into Roman’s eyes, searching for something, though Roman wasn’t sure what. 

“Why did you say that?” He asked finally, eyes flicking away. Roman pursed his lips. 

“Say what?” He asked. He said a lot of things, half of which he forgot as soon as the words left his mouth. 

“Called me beautiful. Why’d… why’d you do that?” The human was turning red again, refusing to meet his eyes. Roman flushed as well, not that the human saw. 

“Because it’s true. You took my breath away when I first saw you, you’re more awe inspiring than the stars in the sky, you’re more handsome than the most brilliant of fae, your eyes are deeper and darker than the most mysterious of oceans.” Roman said slowly, waxing poetical as he often did. The human was furiously red now, looking down at his feet. 

“That’s… wow. Thanks, but, you’re wrong. I’m none of that.” Roman shrugged. 

“That’s simply my opinion. I hope eventually I can sway you to see you as I do. I want to get to know you. I want to learn everything about you. But most importantly, I want you to be comfortable. I am a bit dramatic and intense, and I realize I may have overstepped. I will leave you be, if you’d like.” Roman said, cursing his forwardness. He’d probably freaked the human out with his intenseness, and totally blown it. He sat up, ready to leave, surprised when a hand grabbed his wrist. 

“N-no. That’s ok. If you wanna just… stay, for a bit?” The human still wasn’t looking at him, but he seemed to relax slightly as Roman sat back down slowly, once again laying across the roof in the sun. 

“As you wish, fairest in the land.” He replied, unable to help his flirting. He was rewarded though, by a small, quiet laugh. It was almost inaudible, but it was there, a snort and low chuckle that made him grin. 

“Whatever, Princey.” The human replied. Roman opened his mouth to shoot back some witty reply, but he froze as he felt the human move closer, tuck himself under Roman’s arm, resting his head on Roman’s chest before closing his eyes, breathing in deeply. 

Heckity heck three abs one pec, his brain was short circuiting. 

“Call me Anxiety, by the way, Anx for short.” The human, Anx, said, not opening his eyes, still fully relaxed against Roman. Carefully, Roman shifted his arm to hold Anx closer against him, warmth blooming in his chest. “Keep talking? About anything, really. It… helps, keeps my mind busy.” Anxiety seemed slightly embarrassed, but Roman nodded immediately. 

“If there’s one thing I’m champion at, it’s speaking endless nonsense. You’ve chosen the right man for the job.” He announced proudly, eliciting another snort from Anx, which he reveled in, before launching into a lecture about the differences between thunderbirds and rocs.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan meets Virgil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More fluff? Yes please!

“Should we be worried? They’ve been gone for a long time.” Damien asked, frowning at the late afternoon light coming through the windows. He’d been so caught up in Patton’s conversation and Remus’s flirting that he hadn’t realized the hours flying by. He’d noticed about half an hour after Virgil left that so had Roman, and he was a bit warry of the usually loud fae being alone with him. Patton paused, tilting his head. 

“No. They’re fine. All I’m getting from both of them is comfort and warmth.” Damien frowned slightly. Virgil was never at ease, least of all with new people. Still, if Patton said they were alright, they were. 

“We probably should get going, though. It’s not good to be out after nightfall in small groups. Attacks are few and far between, but darker and more dangerous creatures tend to be roaming, and one too close call is enough for me.” Remus proclaimed, twining his fingers through Damien’s, bumping his shoulder affectionately. Damien huffed, rolling his eyes. 

“Patton, is Virgil well enough to come back with us, if he wants?” Patton nodded. 

“Yup! He just needs the other dose of medicine before he goes, and he should be fine.” Damian nodded, smiling as he walked outside, confused as he didn’t see anyone. He was sure they wouldn’t wander far.

Then he heard Roman’s voice and looked up. The roof. Of course, Virgil had always had a penchant for finding places no one else would, in order to escape and be alone. 

“Vee, you up there?” He called. Immediately, Virgil’s head popped up, as did Roman’s. 

“What’s up, my scaly comrade?” Roman asked, causing Virgil to smirk. 

“We were going to head out. Do you want to come back with us, to the castle, or stay here? The castle is fairly quiet, and you would get to meet Logan, but I understand if that would be overwhelming for you right now.” Virgil was already shaking his head. 

“With you. Please.” Damien got the feeling Virgil was going to be following him around like a duckling for a few days, afraid if Damien left his side, he would vanish. 

“Ok. Patton’s getting your medicine, then we’ll leave. You can ride with Roman, if he can find his horse, that is.” Roman laughed, getting to his feet and reaching a hand out to pull Virgil to his, then he stuck his fingers in his mouth and whistled. 

A few moments passed with nothing happening, and Damien raised an eyebrow as Remus and Patton joined them outside. 

“Why are you imitating a rooster, Ro?” Remus called, and Roman scowled good naturedly. 

“Hold on, this is gonna work.” He did it again, a longer, higher tone this time. 

“Is something supposed to be happening, or are you just showing off your whistling skills?” 

“Oh shush. HATHOR GET OVER HERE, PLEASE!” He yelled. Moments later the sound of hooves could be heard, and Hathor whinnied, coming to a stop before Patton, who instantly began fawning over her. 

“Uh huh. Worked real well, Princey.” Virgil commented, already partway down the tree. 

“You are a sarcastic little spider monkey, aren’t you?” Roman asked, folding his arms. Virgil gave a little salute, that pleased smirk back on his face. 

“You’re learning. Didn’t know you had the brain power for it.” Roman spluttered indignantly, scurrying down the tree after Virgil, loudly proclaiming his intelligence to a giggling Patton and an amused Remus and Damien. 

“Here you go, kiddo!” Patton handed Virgil a cup. He wrinkled his nose, but downed the whole thing anyway, making a face afterwards. 

“Swear it tasted worse that time.” He grumbled.

“You were just actually aware of what it tasted like that time.” Damien replied, shooting a thankful glance at Patton, knowing the pixie could feel his gratitude at having taken care of Virgil. Patton just smiled softly and nodded, shooing them all to their horses. 

Roman blushed as Anx mounted Hathor behind him, the human wrapping his arms around Roman’s chest tightly. He could feel Anx’s nervousness, and evidently so could Hathor, who was already chomping at the bit. 

“No. Easy, girl. Nice and slow.” He yelped as Hathor ignored him, taking off towards the castle at a full on sprint. Remus and Damien just sighed, mounting the very well behaved Freya, waving goodbye as they trotted away through the trees. 

…  
Logan rubbed his forehead, letting out a small, annoyed groan. He’d been searching the library for hours on end, scouring the old reference books, the old diaries of previous rulers, the few legends and histories of before the kingdoms split apart as they had, for any sign or mention of a being known as a or the Dragon Witch, and nothing. 

Absolutlely nothing. 

It was infuriating. He was sure, sure he’d heard that name before, it niggled something in the back of his mind, it was familiar, somehow, and he found himself trying to recount the stories and legends of the Night Woods, searching his memories for anything he could remember. But it had been so long, and he’d largely dismissed most of what he’d learned of their history as lies after leaving. Perhaps he should have tried harder to parse the truths out. 

He would have gone back to studying, despite the late hour, gods, was it really almost midnight? But he felt something. He frowned, tilting his head. Yes, it was definitely magic, and it was definitely nearby.

On high alert now, he left the library, slipping down the hall silent as a ghost, flickering in and out of the shadows, nearly invisible as he drew them around himself. He was surprised when he felt the magic suddenly grow strong, a pulse of power, then die out. Usually, that meant a spell or ritual had been completed, that final drive of power the activating force behind it. But this left no effect, no, it was more uncontrolled, untempered. Then he heard the quiet gasps, punctuated by stifled inhales, as if someone was trying to contain tears. Looking down, he saw almost dark fog starting to fade away, and it all clicked. 

Remus had told him, Dee had a friend who had shadow magic and was never trained, was scared of it. He’d been at Patton’s. He must have been well enough they brought him back with them from their visit earlier. That still didn’t answer what had upset the human enough that his magic lashed out so strongly that Logan could feel it clear as day from the library. 

He moved to knock on the door, surprised when it easily pushed open at the contact. He didn’t want to intrude but his curiosity got the better of him, and he peeked inside to better judge the situation. 

Shadows wreathed around the human, warping the air around him. The human was sitting, shoulders hunched, curled forwards into himself, hands entangled and gripping at his hair, choked gasps escaping his lips.

“Useless, stupid, worthless.” The words were soft, whispered by the swirling shadows. The human hunched tighter, pulling at his hair hard enough it must hurt. 

“no… please… stop…” He heard gasped out, then the shadows seemed to swirl tighter around him. 

“Shut up boy, or is the devil back in you?” The shadows spoke with a different voice, and a shudder wracked the human’s body, a rough sob as half memories played out throughout the room. Not clear, but enough that Logan understood, with furious clarity, why the human was so terrified of himself and his magic. 

“Well this won’t do at all.” He muttered softly, with a wave of his hand dimly igniting the globe lamps around the room. Just enough to provide some light, not bright enough to startle the human or blind him with the sudden change. He moved closer slowly, making no sudden movements.

“I am going to sit beside you. I am going to put my hand on your shoulder. It is the easiest way for me to help.” The human flinched back at the contact, and Logan let out a low breath. He didn’t want to make him uncomfortable, but this really was the best way. He reached out again, letting his own shadows grow and slip from his fingertips. 

They chased away the ones circling the human, herding them into the light, where they dissipated, whirling around them until fell apart in the air, the final remnants of a nightmare at last giving way as the last of the fog faded away. 

“I am going to ask you some questions. Take all the time you need to answer them, it is ok if you can’t think of anything. Just try your best, ok?” He asked, seeing the smallest, slightest nod from the human. “Good. Can you name five things you can see?” A shuddering intake of breath, short and rasping. 

“L-lights. The w-wall. Blanket. B-b-bed. Sheets.” The answers were short, choppy, but speaking was forcing him to inhale and exhale at a more normal rate. 

“Good, that’s very good. Now, what are four things you can feel?” Logan asked, and the human shrugged. 

“C-cold. My sweater. M-my h-hair. Y-y-your hand.” Was the mumbled reply. He was starting to uncurl a bit, his hands released his hair after he realized he was still pulling at it.

“Excellent. Three things you can hear?” The human took a deep breath before answering, exhaling lowly. 

“My heart. Y-your voice. Um, my breathing?” 

“Alright. Almost done. Two things you can smell?” The human was almost fully uncurled now, sitting up and looking down, but his shoulders had relaxed, some of the tension gone as he fiddled with loose string on his jacket. 

“Wood. Rain.” Came the quiet response. 

“Last thing. One thing you can taste?” The human’s mouth twitched up in a small, split second smile before it faded again. 

“Patton’s medicine. ‘S been hours and the aftertaste is still there.” Logan chuckled as the human made a face at the taste. 

“I am familiar with the unfortunate flavor of Patton’s remedies. Their effectiveness is the bane of my existence on the rare occasion I come down with something.” Logan replied, eliciting a small snort from the human, who seemed to be fully recovered from his previous distress.

“sorry. I probably woke you up and you probably have better things to be doing than bothering with me.” The human had drawn his knees up to his chest, his dark hair hanging over his eyes. 

“To the contrary, I was already up, and seeing as you were in distress, and I could assist, helping you was the better thing I could be doing.” He paused, tilting his head. “You are Dee’s friend, correct?” The human nodded. 

“Anx, I’m going by.” Came the muffled response. 

“I am Logan. It is good to meet you, Anx.” That elicited another broken almost laugh. 

“it’s not. It’s really not. I wouldn’t even want to meet me, if I could help it.” Logan could feel himself breaking inside, at the bitter desolation in Anx’s voice. He didn’t need Patton’s empathic abilities to feel how low this human thought of himself, how much fear and hatred was directed towards his own person. That kind of loathing, that wasn’t natural. That was taught, instilled, drilled into the mind until it stuck and became the only truth one could see. He felt another wash of anger towards the people of Dee and Anx’s village. If he ever met them, they would not make it out unscathed. 

“Listen to me. What they told you, what they’ve forced you to believe about yourself, that you are broken or your magic is bad or a curse or the work of the devil, none of that is true. It is all a horrendous, hideous lie, spoken by idiots who are too oafish and stupid to even comprehend the tiniest iota of fact. 

Shadow magic is no different than Patton’s empath abilities. It is no different than Roman’s showboating fireworks, or Remus’s explosive powers. It is something inherent, woven into your being, part of your design. It is something to be proud of. 

Right now, it is scary. It is uncontrolled and untamed. It runs wild on you. It feeds off your own emotions, making your thoughts real. Sometimes, that is helpful, like when one of your little shadows led Dee to you. But until you learn to control it, it is often hindering or outright dangerous, not to others, but to yourself.

The first thing to remember, is to breathe. When you feel overwhelmed, when you feel the shadows growing darker, when you know you can’t contain them, just breathe. I know it is easier said than done, but controlled breathing will help focus your mind, help keep you centered, help you regain clarity. 

The second thing to remember is that you are in control. They are your shadows, it is your magic, you are at the helm, you are in command, they must and will bend to your wants and needs. They can be surly, they can try to resist, but if you remain confident in what you are asking of them, they will obey. 

The third thing is simply this, your magic is not who you are. It is simply a part of you. There is no need to be afraid of yourself. You are stronger than you think, and better than you believe, and more cared for than you know. What they did to you, was wrong. There is no defense, no explanation, no situation where that treatment of a child was called for. I know that will take time to accept, time to move past, but start there. 

Start by trying, just trying, to believe in your own worth. Because you are worthy, of being believed in.” Logan’s voice was low and intense as he spoke, and he realized Anx was looking up at him through his bangs with a shocked, almost stricken expression, wide eyed and uncertain as if he’d just learned something earth shattering and mind breaking, and was struggling to reconcile it into his views. 

“I… ‘s hard. It’s so… hard.” The strangled reply finally came, and without thinking, Logan pulled Anx into a hug, rocking him and humming a song he used to use whenever one of the princes had awoken with nightmares. 

“I know. But it will get easier. You just have to try your best, each day, to not let it overwhelm you, to think of yourself in terms a little kinder, to put more distance between what they have said and what you believe. It is hard, I know it is. But it will be worth it.” He replied, worried he’d overstepped for a moment, before he felt Anx melt into his arms, breath catching as he cried himself out. Logan was surprised to find himself holding an armful of sleeping Anx a few minutes later, the human protesting sleepily when he tried to move to disentangle himself. He understood the need for physical contact after a nightmare, but he had not expected Anx to be so open to his own comfort, having barely even met him. 

Still, it was late, and Logan was tired, and he wasn’t going to move if Anx didn’t want him to, he got the feeling the boy didn’t get nearly enough sleep on his own, anyways, and it was… soothing. It reminded him of when the princes were young, and he’d have to rock them to sleep, read them stories until they drifted off, stroke down their foreheads to their nose to get them to pass out.

He shook his head fondly at the memories, shifting so he was comfortable leaning against the headboard, Anx resting atop his chest and curled into his arms. He could already feel the warmth radiating from his chest, the protective instinct flaring to life in him, and he sighed. Why not add another half feral kid to his family? At least Anx was less likely to start swordfights or ignite smoke bombs indoors than the princes. 

He smiled wryly, imagining Patton’s face if he walked into this scene. Surely, Patton would have predicted this outcome, knowing him, had been hoping and expecting for Logan to take Anx under his wing. Patton always knew when Logan’s mind was made up about something, usually before even Logan himself did. He really should visit the pixie soon, he’d gotten so caught up in research he’d completely forgotten to go with the boys. He hadn’t found anything in the library, anyways, so he might as well not waste the day there. 

He sighed, and lowered the brightness of the lights to the barest of glows, before settling back and closing his eyes, falling asleep almost instantly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next week. 
> 
> Get ready.
> 
> :)


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan teaches Virgil how to control his magic.

Breakfast was quiet. Anx was next to Dee, hadn’t left his side all morning. Logan had been gone when he’d woken up, saving him from the awkwardness of whatever that situation would have been. He was still mulling over Logan’s words anyway, puzzling over them as he picked at his plate. Roman and Remus were chattering softly, mostly nonsense, and Damien himself had never been a morning person. Virgil could feel Logan’s eyes on him, but he wouldn’t look up, wouldn’t make eye contact, his nerves were frayed and jittery, any small noise nearly making him jump. He didn’t know what was wrong with him this morning, why he was being so paranoid. 

Maybe it was the remnants of last night’s nightmare, that was more of a memory than a dream. He bit his lip, setting down his fork and balling his hands up in his lap, so they wouldn’t be seen shaking. 

How was he supposed to change what he knew himself to be? He glanced up at Logan, taking him in for a brief moment before his eyes flickered away. His dark skin, his silver hair and swirls, his nearly black eyes… he supposed if he didn’t know better already he would say Logan looked… evil. Like how you expect a fairytale witch or something to appear. 

But… but he was nice. And he had shadow magic. And he wasn’t evil. So maybe… maybe the shadows didn’t make himself bad or wrong or evil, either. Maybe if he could control them, it wouldn’t hurt so much. Patton had said Logan would be willing to teach him. But what if he asked and Logan laughed, or said no, or- 

“Anx.” He jumped in his seat at Logan’s voice, eyes flicking up to meet Logan’s for a moment before looking away again. 

“Y-yes?” He felt Damien gently squeeze his leg, reassuring him that it was ok, everything was fine, and he managed a deep breath. 

“Would you be amenable to spending the morning with me? We can work on better controlling your magic, so it doesn’t overwhelm you.” 

“Oh. Y-yeah. That’s… that sounds fine.” He heard Logan’s hum of approval from across the table, and felt a small smile creep across his face, felt something inside him relaxing. He had still half believed he’d be punished for his outburst last night, that in the cold light of morning, all the warmth of the previous evening would disappear. But it hadn’t. Logan wanted to teach him. Wanted to help. And Virgil didn’t want to be afraid of himself anymore.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Damien asked lowly. Virgil shook his head, putting on the brave face he didn’t quite feel.

“No, I… I’ll be fine. You go do… whatever you do here. What do you do here?” Damien laughed, leaning back in his chair. 

“So far, fall in love, explore the market, and talk to a dragon.” Virgil’s eyes grow wide as saucers and Damien regretted mentioning the dragon, as Virgil peppered him with spluttered questions. It took quite the convincing to prove he was fine, and after Virgil seemed more awed than anything. 

“I told you! I told you that’s what it was, but you never believed me!” Virgil cried when he explained what Blue had told him, and how Logan explained it. 

“Yes, yes, I know, you’re always right, Shadowling, how dare I doubt your brilliance?” Damien muttered sarcastically, getting a snort of laughter out of Virgil. 

“You suspected this possibility? Why?” Logan asked. Damien felt a rush of pride as Virgil launched into his own explanation of folktales and theories he’d worked up over the years, most of which had circled back to dragons. Damien had never had much interest in them, he’d never cared why he was the way he was, but it had been a subject of fascination for Virgil. 

Eventually, Remus slipped a hand into Damien’s, and gave him a too innocent smile, eyes glinting in a way Damien already knew meant trouble.

“What do you say we leave the nerds to their conspiracy theories, and we go find some fun?” Damien raised an eyebrow, his own eye nearly glowing in the morning light, taking Remus’s breath away for a moment. 

“Find some fun? Surely you meant cause some trouble, darling.” He replied, idly examining his nails. He could feel Remus’s smile, saw it out of the corner of his eye, those too sharp teeth on full display again. 

“Oh, I knew I fell so fast for you for a reason. Onwards, to chaos!” Remus declared, jumping up out of his seat so fast it toppled over, Damien laughing as he was pulled along out of the room. 

Roman groaned, head thumping on the table before getting up to chase after the two of them, to make sure Remus didn’t start any real trouble. He said a quiet goodbye as he left the room, feeling his face heat up at Anx’s mumbled farewell.   
…

“Do you remember what I told you last night?” They were in an open, plain training room. There were practice dummies pushed up against the wall, loose slatted ceiling boards letting in plenty of light, dust motes dancing through the rays. Virgil nodded, taking a deep breath. 

“yeah. That… that I need to breathe. Remember that I’m in control. That it isn’t… isn’t bad.” Logan nodded, tapping a finger against his arm in thought. 

“Correct. I have noticed you have a rather… heightened, fear response. Is that due to your magic?” Virgil’s shoulders hunched at that question, and Logan frowned. He hadn’t meant to push nerves. 

“You don’t need to answer that. I am a chronic overstepper of bounderies.” Logan quickly added. Virgil shook his head. 

“No, it’s fine, it’s… yes and no, I guess. It’s not directly from the magic, more… more from what… what was done because of it. I… I’m afraid to let it show. To let it out. I’m constantly on guard, keeping it… keeping it down. I don’t… I didn’t trust anyone, back there, with it, besides Dee. I was warned, often enough, what would happen if it ‘came back’. I was watched, always. I had to hide, everything. I don’t… I don’t know how to stop doing that.” Logan’s heart ached at the uncertainty in Anx’s voice, at the pain just mentioning his former home brought, at the damage that had been done to him by those village idiots. 

“That’s ok. Trust is not easily earned. What I am concerned about is your wellbeing and comfort. If you need to stop or feel uncomfortable we will stop.” Virgil nodded, biting at his thumb nail. “What I want to do first is some meditation. It may be difficult at first to focus your mind, but it helps me sort out my thoughts, and manage emotions.” Virgil realized Logan was looking at him for approval, and quickly lowered his head, flushing slightly. 

“ok. How… how do we do that?” Logan smiled softly, sitting down in the middle of the room, cross legged, resting his hands on his knees. Virgil hesitated for a moment, before settling down in a similar position, facing Logan.

“Now. Close your eyes.” Virgil hesitated, but complied, trying to keep from imaging everything that could be happening around him without his knowledge right now. 

“Deep breaths, Anx. It’s ok. I’m going to count out a rhytm. Try and breath with it.” Logan started counting and Virgil did his best to follow the pattern. After a while, he found himself doing it naturally, realized that Logan had stopped counting aloud. 

“Now, feel the muscles in your toes. Let them relax. Continue moving up your body. With every breath in, feel the tension, with every breath out, release it. Focus on what you can feel, what you can hear.” Virgil did as he was told, feeling his shoulders relax, letting his hands uncurl, letting his back untense, until he was sure he hadn’t felt this physically relaxed in years. 

He could hear the steady in and out of his breath. The low pulse of his heartbeat. The soft chirping of birds somewhere in the rafters. He could feel the sun warming him, the fabric of his pants pressing against his legs where they were tucked against the wooden floor. He let his mind drift over these feelings, still distantly listening to Logan’s voice, keeping him steady in this quiet fullness. 

“Good, you’re doing so well, Anx. Now, slowly, remembering to breathe just like you have been, open your eyes.”

It was like a fog, covering the room. A gray, misty fog of shadows that danced through the light, spiraling slowly and softly. They didn’t take any forms, the fog low across the ground, like early morning mist. It was ethereal, almost… almost beautiful. 

“Very good, Anx. How are you feeling?” He took a deep breath in and out, keeping his pulse steady as he stared at the shadows all around him. 

“I… ok. Ok I guess.” He mumbled. 

“I would like you to try and sustain this for a while. Just keep them in this position. Remember, you are in control. They are influenced by your own emotions. If you are afraid, they will react to your fear. That is what lets them have control, what turns them against you.” Virgil nodded, taking in another deep breath. He tried to relax, tried to just idly watch the shadows float and swirl and twist. Idly, he found himself searching for patterns. 

He realized he was influencing the shadows. His thoughts were making them swirl up into small spires that then collapsed back into the mist coating the floor. He let out a little smile, pulling a patch of shadows up, forming it into a rough doll sized replica of Patton’s house. That collapsed, and he made a version of the castle, though the spires were tricky to hold. He formed some butterflies, and with a little more effort and concentration, sent them circling once around the room, before they faded from the light. It was… fun. 

He felt something against his neck, and turned his head, surprised to see the little shadowy blob that had led Damien to him, perched on his shoulder. He reached up a hand, and the slippery little thing happily slid onto his hand, feeling almost jellylike against his fingers. 

“Have you been hiding back there this whole time?” He asked, eyebrow raised. He didn’t know they could do that, linger around. Though this one seemed different from the others anyway, more sentient and less reactionary. The blob nodded, and he could somehow sense its apprehension in admitting it. 

“Wanted to stay! Help!” It chirped, bobbing its head up and down. Virgil chuckled. This one, at least, had been rather helpful, and to be honest, was pretty cute. 

“Well, you did do a good job finding Dee… you promise to listen to what I say? Not do anything important without my permission?” He asked, the little thing bobbing its head faster in agreement. 

“Yesyesyes!” It chirped again. He smiled, gently booping its head with his finger. The shadow seemed surprised before it let out an offended squeak. 

“Alright, then you can stay, little guy.” He lifted his hand back to his shoulder, allowing the blob to perch on it as it surveyed the room. It seemed unaffected by the light, unlike the other shadows he conjured. “We’ll have to think up a name for you, if you intend to stick around. Let me know if you hear one you like.” He murmured, startling as Logan cleared his throat. He’d forgotten the fae was here. 

“Fascinating. You are familiar with this little one?” Logan asked, stepping closer to peer closely at the blob. 

“Yeah. He’s the one who got Dee for me. Didn’t realize he was still hiding out. He’s… different from the other shadows, yeah?” He asked a bit nervously. Logan smiled as he pulled back, hands clasped behind his back.   
“Indeed. It seems you have summoned a familiar. Most humans with magic find or earn one eventually, though I have never seen one quite like this. Then again, I have never met a human with shadow magic before.” 

“A familiar… like what witches have? Black cats and all that?” Logan sighed, the exasperated expression on his face nearly making Virgil laugh. 

“A familiar is a magical creature that bonds itself to a human magic user. Usually the bond is formed through trust and experience, though in this case it seems it was formed through extreme duress. The familiar helps their bonded partner manage their magic, as well as acting as an added protection against enemy threats, usually being able to sense shifts in magical energy before a human would process them. They are companions, and allies, and trusted partners. Perhaps this little one heard your call to the shadows, and came to investigate such a strong pull, and upon finding you decided to help. Am I close?” Logan asked, looking at the little blob. 

“Yesyesyes! Helped! Did good!” It chirped happily, sending a small smile across Logan’s face. 

“Indeed you did. I would expect him to choose a shape, once he settles in. His elastic, inky appearance indicates some form of small shape shifter. He may frequently change shape, based on your needs and his own, or he may find one he likes and settle into it. For now, he is a little pool of darkness because he has not yet chosen a shape, or built up enough power to shift. As you spend more time together, and use your magic more, your bond will become stronger as well, until you are able to sense each other from fairly far distances. This is a skill we can practice as well. Building that relationship is important. Now, would you like to send these on their way?” Logan asked, gesturing to the fog still filling the room. 

Virgil nodded, taking a breath, holding it, letting it out, letting his grasp on the shadows slip, letting them fade away in the sunlight, until he couldn’t feel their pull anymore. When he opened his eyes they were gone, except for his familiar. 

“That… felt good, actually.” He muttered, surprised. Usually after interacting with his shadows, he felt drained, exhausted, sometimes achy and sore. But this time he almost felt… refreshed. It was amazing, the difference, when he controlled them, chose to summon them. 

“Good. It should not cause you harm to use them naturally.” 

Several things happened at once. 

His familiar let out a low, shrieking hiss, coiling flat against his shoulder. 

A patch of light shimmered strangely, and suddenly there was a fae that looked a lot like Logan standing there, swaying on his feet. Logan let out a gasp, catching the other fae as he fell. 

“Rem, what happened?” Logan asked, brushing the other fae’s hair out of his face. His breathing was heavy and rapid, his face an ashen gray. 

“She’s coming… tried to stop her… Linaria…” His eyes drifted shut, and Logan realized that his jacket was darker than usual. He tore it off, revealing ugly claw slashes across his chest, oozing dark blood. 

“Linaria…” His eyes widened and he stumbled to his feet, ripping off part of his own jacket to tie around Remy’s chest to try and stop the bleeding. Oh, it made sense, he’d been so hung up on the name, Dragon Witch, he hadn’t stopped to consider the obvious: who was witch who’d had a fascination with dragons, had a vendetta against Everthorn, against Thomas, specifically, wouldn’t hesitate to take her grudge out on his remaining family? 

Then the earth shook and a high, screaming roar rang out, unmistakably a dragon’s call. Logan cursed, torn between defending his boys, and his cousin who was bleeding out by the moment. 

“Go. Get him help. We’ll go find them.” Virgil rested a hand on Logan’s shoulder, eyes flashing. Logan didn’t want to leave the boy alone, let him go face her wrath, but he didn’t have a choice if he wanted Remy to live. And, he reminded himself, Virgil was Dee’s family, too. He had just as much to lose as Logan. 

“Ok.” He whispered, hearing Virgil’s footsteps as he dashed outside, carefully picking up Remy, who sagged limply in his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;)


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dragons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting this chapter a little early, because it's honestly one of my favorites and I've been dying to get to share this one with all of you. Everything comes to a head here, and I love it.   
> Feel free to scream at me in the comments!

They were surrounded by dragons. One moment, they had been laughing, Roman and Remus sparring in the field outside the castle, Damien idly watching them, adding in snarky commentary. 

“Remus, you do look dashing with those grass stains all over.” He commented, making Roman snort. Remus caught his brother by surprise, swinging and knocking him down to the ground. 

“That’s cheating! Your boyfriend distracted me!” Roman protested. Remus grinned, morning star resting on his shoulder. 

“Um, he was heckling me, good sir. I don’t see how that would affect you, unless you enjoyed seeing me heckled.” Remus said with a raised brow. Roman paused, contemplating his answer. 

“I feel like this is a trick question. I choose not to respond.” He’d replied, getting to his feet, causing Remus to laugh. 

“Good choice.” Damien replied dryly, rolling his eyes. 

Then there was a tornado of wind, the noise of air overwhelming, shadows darkening and blotting out the sky. And five dragons had descended, forming a ring around them so there was nowhere to run. 

Immediately, Remus was in front of Damien, summoning a shining, green shield out of thin air, planting it in the earth so he could wield his Morningstar without having to keep position before Damien. Roman had done the same, standing back to back with Damien, his own red shield firmly planted, gilded sword drawn. 

“We don’t want trouble. We helped your big blue friend, he can confirm we haven’t harmed any dragons. We don’t want to be forced to harm you, either.” Roman said, voice low as he kept his head on a swivel. One of the dragons roared, lowering its head slightly, sniffing at the air, eyes narrowed. 

“You don’t want trouble? Well, now, that’s a first for the fae of Everthorn.” The voice was low and venomous, dangerously silky and honeyed sweet, as a purple lightning flash crashed into the ground.

When they blinked their eyes clear a woman stood before them, curtseying lowly, brilliant sapphire blue eyes burning as she glared at them. Her hair was raven dark, her black, knee high dress giving way to dark stockings and deep brown boots. There was an almost electric aura crackling in the air around her, her wavy hair flowing in a nonexistent breeze. Deep, violet and indigo scales curled around her wrists and up her arms, climbing up her neck and curling around her forehead like a shining circlet. 

“Who are you? State your name and business!” Roman called, voice steady and sword held at the ready. She raised an eyebrow, letting out a dark laugh. 

“Oh, darling, that’s cute. Love the trying to be scary thing, but trust me, I’ve seen much worse. Still, I’ll humor you. Linaria of the Storm Wings, at your service.” She stood tall again, smile never leaving her face. “You probably haven’t heard of me, but trust me, I’ve keeping an eye on you. So this is the pathetic little spawn of the great King Thomas, hmmm? Not much to look at, are you, dears?” Remus growled, low and menacing, shifting his mace in his hands as she stepped closer. 

“What do you want?” Roman bit out as Linaria circled them, eyes never leaving her. Her face darkened at the question, eyes going flat. 

“What I want? What is rightfully mine! This land is forfeit for the crimes of your father. I would have been peaceful, I had been coming to ask, to plead, to bargain, to make whatever deal I would be given, for any amount of land and peace and that would have been the end. But Thomas” she spat the name, fury welling in her voice, giving it a thunderous edge, “Thomas took something from me, stole something from me. Something irreplaceable, something infinitely precious, something that is now lost to me forever. And that is what I cannot forgive. That is what I have come to avenge.” 

A lullaby. Words, almost, almost words, warmth. Something large, something warm, something scaled. A voice, a sweet, soft voice. He could almost see it, almost hear it-

“HEY! Get away from them!” Virgil’s voice broke him from his trance, and he whipped his head to see Virgil standing in the field beyond the ring of dragons, dark eyes flashing as shadows spun from his fingertips, snaking across the ground. 

Linaria laughed, with a wave of her hand the shadows fizzled to nothing and vanished, before they had even reached the dragons. 

“Well, well. Logan got himself a little human for an apprentice?” Virgil yelped as he was suddenly lifted into the air, an invisible force squeezing around his throat as he struggled for breath. With a flick of her finger, Linaria brought him close, long nailed hands digging into his chin as she examined him with a tut. 

“One would think a magician of his status could do better.” With that, she released her hold, sending Virgil flying through the air, head cracking hard against the scales of one of the dragons, before he tumbled to the ground. Damien’s heart stopped as Virgil lay there, unmoving, eyes closed and still, the witch advancing on him. 

Without a second thought he shoved himself out from between the princes, feeling blinding rage and fierce protection rushing through his veins. Not Virgil, no one was hurting Virgil again. 

He didn’t notice the glow that was starting to form around him as he raced to Virgil’s side, the shouted protests from the princes as he literally shoved past Linaria, the golden aura that grew stronger, illuminating him like a small sun as he stood in front of Virgil. This close, he could see the steady rise and fall of his chest, but the fury was still crashing against his skin as he stared down the witch. 

His eyes flashed, his fangs bared, his nails almost sharpening into talons, a low, rumbling hiss escaping his chest as he planted his feet firmly in the ground. To his satisfaction, Linaria did take a startled step back, but it wasn’t fear that flashed across her face. It was pain. A shaken, broken stab of hurtful hope. 

“Janus?” She whispered, taking a shaking step forwards. The name tugged at something inside him, some long forgotten part, tried to pull him in, pull him closer, but he shook it away, once again meeting her gaze strongly. Fury flashed across her face then, as she turned back to the princes. 

“you. You did thisss. You turned him against me. How dare you take him from me, how dare you think you can make him yours?” She hissed, the invisible wind whipping around her in a frenzy. “I’ll make you pay. I’ll destroy everything, everything you love.” With a howling screech the wind enveloped her, Remus and Roman stumbling as the ground shook, as the dragons raised their heads and roared, buffeted by winds as they took off, circling in the air above them. At their head, was the largest dragon of all, a stunning, indigo violet she dragon that screeched with all the fury of the four winds, clearly commanding the others. 

Roman leapt atop Remus, holding his shield up over the two of them, knowing it wouldn’t stop a blast of dragon fire from so many, knowing even with the defensive magic he was pouring into it, it would give, and then scorch them to ash, but he had to try to protect his little brother. 

Then he heard the rush, the air stilling, in that second before the roaring heat would hit, seeing every happy moment he’d ever spent before his eyelids, knowing at least Logan was there to see to the kingdom, then he closed his eyes in resignation for his fate as a looming shadow covered them, ready for the impact… 

Which didn’t come. 

Gold. He was surrounded by gold. What… he grunted as Remus shoved him off, rolling out from under him and sucking in a deep breath. 

“Are you trying to suffocate me!?” Roman huffed. 

“Pardon me for trying to keep you from getting barbecued!” They both froze at the low, rumbling growl they could feel vibrating the ground, stumbling as the golden surface above them pressed down, making them crouch. They locked eyes as it hit both of them at once. 

“Ro… is that a wing? Are we… are we under a dragon’s wing?” Remus squeaked out, suddenly wishing Roman was back on top of him. 

“Shh. I think so.” They froze as another screeching roar rang out, this one from the sky, the wings flattening them to the ground as they pressed down harder. They heard distant whumps of air, thundering wingbeats, what they could only assume were the other dragons flying away. 

“This isn’t over, princes.” Her voice hissed in their ears, and the dragon let out a low hiss in response, the wingbeats fading into the distance. 

They both stumbled as the wing lifted off of them. Immediately, both brothers shot to their feet, weapons brandished and shields held at the ready. The dragon shuffled, seeming almost unsure of itself, as it turned, stretching its long neck around to look at them. 

It really was a beautiful creature, brilliant golden scales that glittered in the light, fading slowly to rose gold and soft copper near the underside of his belly. He was small, compared to the dragons they’d just been surrounded by, smaller than the blue dragon they’d seen in the field, though it was still easily large enough to crush them with a single foot. 

It leaned towards them, and Roman shoved Remus behind him, brandishing his sword. He was surprised as the dragon pulled back, almost an expression of hurt on its face, of fear. It let out a small whimper, laying its head down on the ground, so it was almost eye to eye with them. 

Roman turned as Remus shoved him away, surprised as Remus started approaching slowly. 

“Remus, what are you doing? They just tried to set us on fire!” Remus turned and glared at him. 

“Uh, duh, but he didn’t! And he’s clearly afraid, and clearly hurting!” Remus hissed back, approaching slowly. The dragon let out another small noise as he ran his hand over the scales on his snout as he walked, stopping when he was right next to the dragon’s eye, the dragon tilting his head to look him straight on. 

“it’s ok, Sunshine. I know you’d never hurt me. And you know I’d never let anyone harm you, either. Especially my own idiot brother. I told you, Damien Lyre, I told you I love you no matter what.” He murmured, stroking the dragon’s scales, smiling softly as the dragon, Damien, let out a huff of air. 

Then a shudder ripped through the dragon, wracking him from head to tail in a spasm that clearly hurt, based on his agonized roar, that nearly burst Remus’s eardrums. He stumbled back as soft, glowing light encased Damien’s form, burning bright as a sun until he had to look away, a brilliant flash blinding him. 

When he blinked his eyes clear, he let out a sharp exhale, rushing to the side of his now human love, who was laying still and unconscious in the grass, in the indent of his dragon form. 

…  
Damien stood before Virgil, fighting off the familiarity tugging at him, shoving it away as the witch turned her attention back to Roman and Remus. He could feel the strange power building in him, could see the brilliant glow emanating from his skin, threatening to burst out of him. Something inside clicked as he saw light flash around Linaria, a magnificent dragon leaping into the air where she had been mere moments before, commanding the others to attack. 

He screamed. White hot agony was ripping through his body. It tore at his chest, ripped at his lungs, scorched his bones. He could feel his body changing, elongating, stretching and ripping and tearing and burning. Another wrenching spear of pain left him voiceless as he felt something burst from his back, stretching out and off balancing him as his neck grew longer, scales growing and covering every new inch of him, twisting and shoving and rearranging everything that he was, had ever been, world a sheen of blurred color as the overwhelming anguish left him breathless and panting. 

He hissed, vision blurred as he swayed, the overwhelming needles being shoved into every pore of his body threatening to steal his awareness, on the verge of blacking out. Then the world seemed to come back into focus, the beat of wings pounding the air above him, colors brighter and more saturated than he’d ever seen, almost overwhelming, the scents bombarding his nose, one catching his attention and snapping him back to the present. 

Sulphur. His head seemed so heavy, his neck so unwieldy, but he lifted it anyways, gritting his teeth with a low growl, in time to see Roman dive on top of Remus, trying to shield them, the dragons about to wipe them off the map. 

He didn’t have time to care what was happening. He leapt, clumsily, almost falling to the ground on his shaking, unfamiliar legs, careful not to land on top of the princes. Gods, it was strange having four legs, how did anything walk with these? He stretched out his wing, pressing it low to the ground, making sure there was no gap for the flames to get under and burn them.

The wash of flames was brief, the fire slipping and parting around him, doing nothing other than warming him slightly. He lifted his head as high as he could, glaring defiantly up at the circling dragons, at the violet form of Linaria, daring her to come closer, daring her to attack him, knowing already she wouldn’t dare, not here and now. 

She let out a screeching roar, a command. He pressed his wing down further as a brief wash of desire to do as he was told blurred his mind, trying to silence his own thoughts. He growled lowly, pressing down further as he shook off the influence. 

“You don’t own me. You don’t control me. I am not yours, Mother.” He hissed out, watching Linaria recoil at his words, at the fire in his eyes. With a final screeching roar, Linaria spiraled upwards, glancing back at him as her dragons followed in her trail, forming a vee formation as they flew into the distance. This wasn’t over, he knew that much, but for now, the battle was won.

He could hear Roman and Remus whispering quietly, and lifted his wing, wincing as he settled it against his side, the unfamiliar sinews and muscles burning unbearably. He didn’t want to move, afraid of accidentally losing his balance and falling over, crushing Roman and Remus. Then he remembered how long his neck was. 

Carefully, he turned his head, twisting his neck around to look at them, relieved to see they seemed alright, both holding their weapons and shields. He tried to move closer, wanting contact, needing to feel it to believe it, but Roman swung his sword at him, making him pull back, fear flickering across his face. 

They didn’t know him. They thought he was just another dragon. They were going to kill him, and never know otherwise, and be mildly confused as to where Damien had gone, but he was just a human, after all. They wouldn’t truly care. It’s not like anyone ever had before. 

With a small whine he laid his head down on the ground, legs giving out, exhaustion sweeping over him, pulsing in time with the pain, pain, pain, that coursed through every inch of his unfamiliar shape. How had this happened, why had this happened, what if he stayed like this forever, what if he never changed back?

He focused as he felt a soft touch on his scales, looking up to see Remus, slowly, coming around his side, one hand trailing across his snout, leaving a wake of gentle relief against his face. He tilted his head into the touch, letting out another low whimper as Remus stroked him again, nearly eye to eye with the fae. 

“it’s ok, Sunshine. I know you’d never hurt me. And you know I’d never let anyone harm you, either. Especially my own idiot brother. I told you, Damien Lyre, I told you, I love you, no matter what.” He let out a relieved huff of air, a giant sigh, wondering for a moment if dragons could cry, because he certainly felt like crying. 

Then he screamed, claws raking the ground as the pain returned tenfold, white hot pokers rammed into his bones, shoving and compacting and pressing tighter and tighter until he couldn’t breathe, until white was all he could see, until he was sure this fire would consume everything he had ever been, the excruciating raking heat ripping into his chest, and the world went dark. 

Remus carefully reached out, caressing Damien’s face, watching intently as his breath hitched, eyes fluttering open. 

“Ree…” He breathed out, leaning into the hand against his cheek. 

“We need to talk about your habit of jumping in front of fire.” Remus said softly, earning a small, pained smile. 

“Your brother needs to stop pissing off dragons.” He replied weakly, smiling as he felt Remus lean in close, capturing his lips with his own in a deep and tender kiss, stealing the air from his lungs, for a long, breathless moment, only pulling away to pepper the rest of his face in kisses, before resting forehead to forehead. 

After a long moment of silence, Damien took a long, shaking breath, letting his head lol back against the grass, wincing at the pang that shot through his chest. He didn’t realize his eyes had drifted shut until he felt Remus carefully lifting him off the ground. He hissed slightly, the movement sending daggers into his skull, every inch of him feeling bruised purple and battered to pieces, tears springing to his eyes, before he blacked out again.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone reconvenes at Patton's house. And we learn what happened to Linaria.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy we're at this point, I've been so excited to share this chapter and the upcoming ones.

Virgil groaned, eyes flicking open, wincing at the light. His head was pounding and he felt a trickle of blood running down the back of his head. 

“Anx?” He blinked, the world coming into focus, freezing as he realized Roman was right before him, his eyes staring into his with worried concern. 

“Are you ok? Can you hear me? What’s my name? How many fingers am I holding up?” Virgil reeled at the questions, struggling to process them and keep up. 

“fine… yes, Roman prince of morons, who’s not actually holding up any fingers for me to count and I’m fine.” Virgil muttered, pushing himself to his feet, cursing as he swayed. Roman caught his arm, holding him steady. Virgil looked up to thank him, stopping as he saw a strange expression of hesitant fear cross Roman’s face. 

“What?” he bit out. 

“Um… I don’t… mean to alarm you…” 

“Ok, well, that’s only making me more anxious, thanks.” 

“There’s a giant spider on your head!” Roman blurted out. Virgil froze, feeling the small shift of movement, now that he was looking for it. He lifted his eyes, smirking at Roman as two hairy legs came into view. His eyes were nearly crossed as he tried to get a clear view, laughing as he lifted his hand, the spider jumping off his nose and onto his palm. 

“Well, don’t you look stunning?” He murmured, pleased, as he gently ran a finger across his familiar’s back. He’d taken the form of a hairy tarantula like spider, nearly the size of his palm. His legs were striped black and white, his face covered in a band of dark purple, his body a sleek black. He chirped happily in response, scuttling up his arm to perch on his shoulder. 

“I’m surprised you picked one that fast, Logan said it could take a while-“ He broke off at the thought of Logan, remembering the injured fae, everything rushing back to him. 

“Patton’s. We have to get to Patton’s, that’s where Logan was going, he knows something about all of this, he knew who she was!” He turned, searching the field, eyes widening as he saw Remus holding Damien. He felt his power spike with his fear, shadows starting to swirl around him. 

Then Roman’s hand was in his, and his familiar was nuzzling against his neck and he remembered to breath, leaning against Roman as they hurried across the field. 

“Dee!” He cried out, Remus’s attention flicking to him. 

“He’s alright. Just tired and sore, I think.” He settled a bit at that, a frown still gracing his face.

“If that’s the only side effects for turning into a dragon, he’s one tough cookie.” Roman murmured, making Virgil’s wide eyes go wider. 

“He WHAT!?” He screeched, making Remus wince and Roman jump. 

“After you got knocked out, he shifted to keep us from getting blasted to bits. Wrap your head around it while we’re on the move. Patton needs to take a look at the both of you.” Virgil’s breath caught and he felt pressure building behind his eyes. 

“Anx?” Roman’s voice cut through his thoughts. 

“I’m so useless. I never do a damn thing to help. I just make everything I touch worse. That’s what happened in the village, that’s what happened with my magic, that’s what got him hurt in the first place and now when I was supposed to be helping protect you guys I get knocked out in the first second. I’m such a… a waste, a handicap.” 

“No. We were all outmatched. You ran in without any hesitation, ready to fight five full grown dragons and a pissed off witch who, turns out, is also a dragon. Stupid and foolish? Maybe, but not useless, Anx. Brave. Defending you is what triggered his magic. So we’d all be dead right now, if you hadn’t come charging in.” Roman explained softly, catching Virgil’s chin, tilting his head up so they were eye to eye. “You’re not useless, Anx. You’re wonderful.” Virgil felt his cheeks heat up at that statement, said with such soft tenderness and conviction. 

“Let’s just get moving.” He grumbled, jerking out of Roman’s hold, face burning as he stared at the ground. He heard Roman’s sharp inhale, and felt tears pricking his eyes. He felt Roman hesitate, before sighing, brushing past him and whistling for Hathor. 

“Why sad?” He reached up and stroked his familiar’s back. 

“Because he’s wrong. I’m not what he says I am. I won’t lead him to believe otherwise.” He murmured back, feeling his spider pat his neck in sympathy. 

Then the horses pounded into the clearing, and he climbed on behind Roman, awkwardly trying to avoid holding onto him while keeping his balance, trying to block out all the voices of all the people he’d ever known who had all made sure he knew just how worthless he was. 

…  
“Hang on, Rem. Just hang in there for me.” Logan murmured, his cousin’s eyes flicking, trying to open, but he was too weak to even do that. Logan held him a little tighter, closing his eyes and letting his magic swirl through him, rushing through his veins with the power of a hurricane. “Patton.” He said, strongly, voice echoing with power. 

Instantly, the world swirled, colors shifting and slipping through the spectrum, before slowly settling into chairs, couch, soft colored wood, and finally the world stopped spinning and settled into place. 

“Logan!” Patton came flying around a corner from the kitchen, no doubt having felt him appear. Using teleportation magic wasn’t easy, the most energy consuming and focus necessary kind of power. He swayed on his feet, trying to blink away the fog that seemed to settle in his mind. 

“help. Please.” He managed, holding Remy out to Patton, who inhaled sharply at the state of the unconscious fae as he shifted him into his arms, before gently pushing Logan down so he was sitting on the couch. 

“of course. You try and relax.” He nodded numbly, not moving, mind awhirl, barely listening as Patton vanished into the back room with Remy. He couldn’t stop from thinking of all the things that could go wrong. He couldn’t stop thinking of his boys facing down a dragon. Of them facing down Linaria. 

And he’d left them to do it alone. He stared numbly at the wall, brain choosing to shut down as possibilities and probabilities played out, the most likely scenario being destruction. 

He shot to his feet as he heard footsteps, world spinning for a moment at his shift in altitude, Patton carefully pushing him back into his seat once more, eyes soft as he met Logan’s desperate gaze. 

“He’s going to be okay, Lo. Those claw marks left nasty gashes, but they didn’t go terribly deep. You did good, staunching the bleeding. That was the most serious threat. I healed them up a fair bit, but he still needs to rest.” Logan slumped back in the couch, burying his face in his hands, letting out a long, drawn out breath. 

“Logan? Who is he?” 

“My cousin. I hadn’t seen him in ages. He warned me about some trouble brewing in the night woods. He went to spy for more information. Evidently he… he got caught.” His voice was hoarse, and he shivered, feeling Patton wrap an arm around his shoulders. “She attacked. The boys, I left the boys, they can’t face her, I-“ He was cut off by Patton jumping to his feet, slamming open the door. 

“Get in here and tell Logan you’re not dead, before he loses his mind!” He called, ushering them inside, taking one look at the unconscious Damien and clucked his tongue, feeling his forehead for a temperature, relieved to find none. 

Fear and worry were rolling off both brothers in waves, Anx radiated anxiety and a troubling amount of self loathing, thoughts so loud and hate filled he could feel them in his soul. 

“What happened?” Patton asked, looking between the three. 

“He shape shifted, into a dragon.” Patton nodded, humming thoughtfully. 

“Just tired then. And probably ungodly sore, especially from a shift that big. Poor baby, the first time always hurts the most, to begin with. After that the body gets used to changing, more elastic.” Patton murmured, tucking back Damien’s hair with a small frown.

Logan was on his feet, gently pushing aside Patton, looking over Roman and Remus for a long moment before a harsh cry tore from his lips, and he pulled them both into a tight hug, barely mindful of the unconscious Damien still in Remus’s arms. 

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I left you to face that alone I-“ 

“It’s ok, Logan. Anx told us what happened. And no one was blaming you to begin with.” Roman murmured, as Logan finally released them from his grasp, stepping past them to Anx, who was looking anywhere but at Roman. 

“Don’t. I didn’t do anything, besides get my ass kicked.” Anx interrupted before he could even say anything, wincing as he rubbed the back of his head. 

“Tried!” Chirped a small voice, a spider appearing on his shoulder. Patton screamed, jumping back and onto a chair. The spider squeaked in response, scurrying up Anx’s shoulder and burrowing in his hair, dark eyes barely peeking out from under the dark strands. 

“Patton. Please calm down.” Logan stated more than asked, the barest hint of an amused smile dancing on his lips. Patton shook his head, eyes wide as saucers. 

“Lolo! Sp-spider! Giant Spider!” Logan sighed, hearing the boys barely stifling their snorts of laughter behind him. 

“Yes and no. This is Anx’s familiar. Apparently, it has chosen the form of a maratus personatus, more commonly known as a peacock spider. Rather stunning, in my opinion. I think it suits the both of you quite well.” Logan commented, holding out his hand. After a moment, and a whispered reassurance from Virgil, the spider hopped from his head onto Logan’s hand. He raised it to his eye level, turning his hand to examine the spider from every angle. After a moment, the spider lifted a front leg, resting it against his nose. He froze in confusion. 

“Um. Hello.” 

“boop.” The spider chirped, much to his confusion. He turned at Patton’s soft giggle, not having realized he’d abandoned his perch atop the chair, slowly scooting closer, until he was looking over Logan’s shoulder. 

“He… he is pretty.” Patton said tentatively, giggling as the spider preened at the praise, spinning in a happy circle before settling down again, all eight eyes blinking at him at once. 

“Indeed. Would you like to hold him? If that is acceptable, of course.” Logan amended, both him and the spider looking to Anx, who was smiling softly, now. He shrugged. 

“Sure, if he’s ok with it.” The spider chirped in agreement as Logan turned, holding his hand out to Patton. Hesitantly, Patton held out his hand, flinching a bit as he felt the little legs on his hand. They were surprisingly… soft. 

“Hi!” The spider said, waving a leg back and forth in the air. Patton smiled, carefully lifting a finger, barely touching the spider’s back as he stroked it. The spider let out a low churr, snuggling down into his palm, thorax bobbing happily. 

“Aww, you’re not so bad, are you? You’re a friendly little guy! Who’s a good little spider, are you a good little spider? Are you the bestest spider in the whole world? Yes you are! Yes you are the best little spider in the world!” Patton crooned. 

Roman rolled his eyes, falling onto the couch. Remus followed suit, a bit more carefully, laying Damien across the couch, head resting in his lap as he settled a blanket over him. Carefully, Patton handed the spider back to Anx, who scurried up to settle in his hair once again. 

Patton grabbed Logan’s hand, pulling him down into a large armchair, the two of them barely fitting in it together, no one missing the faint dark blush settling across Logan’s face as he cleared his throat, trying to maintain his composure. Anx perched on a side table, eyes trained on Damien, shrinking back whenever Roman’s gaze wandered to him. 

“Now, then. Let’s compile our knowledge. What happened?”

…  
Warmth. Light, shining morning light. The air is chilled, the perfect temperature, as he stands at the edge of the cave, breathing in the calm. Then he is leaping away, the ground unravelling below him, plummeting closer, before his wings snap open and catch the sky, sending him soaring. 

He lets out a joyous roar, spiraling and slipping through the clouds, his call echoed back to him by the morning greetings of other dragons, and soon the sky is awash with glittering gem colored scales, flashing in the light, wing beats a thunderous chorus and he loses himself in the flight.  
…  
He is leaving home. He is sad and sorry, but there is not enough space, anymore, it’s too dangerous to stay, so he is leaving to find more, to try and negotiate with the fae, to enter into any deal they can to expand. They have begged him to stay, he has a hatchling, and those are rare and precious things, but he will have no future if they do not leave. So he does, his precious cargo carried in his talons, the few other young dragons who have volunteered to come and hide nearby in case things go wrong following as he lifts off, and flies south.   
…  
He is holding his hatchling in his arms, singing softly as he rocks him, the youngling gurgling happily up at him. His eyes are bright as the sun, his scales golden as the first rays of dawn, oh, he will be a wonder, as a dragon. 

“Janus. My light, my love.” He says, kissing the babe’s cheeks, relishing his laughter, a balm to his own worries, as he puts him down in his crib, rocking him to sleep.   
…  
He is at the castle. He has donned a glamour, one no mere fae can see through, to hide his scales. They will not trust a dragon, will not listen to one, this he knows, and he hopes to gain their trust before revealing the purpose of his visit, his true self. 

He finds an ally in Logan. Logan is smart, clever, curious. He is more open with his information on dragons, with Logan, he poses as a scholar, researching dragons, compiling knowledge, it explains some of the oddities about himself, his lack of social graces. Logan would be on his side, he thinks.   
…  
Wrong, wrong, it has all gone wrong!

Janus, he must, must, get to Janus, he is in danger, he will not lose his hatchling! 

Then Logan is before him, shadows dancing at his fingertips, Thomas at his side, and he is caught up in a battle of magic and shadows, explosions and flames, all the while he is looking for an escape, for a way out, for a way to run, finally finding an opening and using all his magic to teleport into the shadows of the woods, running. 

Desperation pounds in time with his pulse, racing to the cave, heart plummeting as he sees scorch marks, burnt trees, still smoldering flames. No, no, no, no!

Dead, they are all dead, his companions, his nest mates, his flock, their bodies are broken and battered, their blood still hot and sizzling as it pools on the floor, swords and spears embedded in their bodies, their scales dull and broken. Horror and rage and pain consumes him, but the panic doesn’t let him stop, he flies through the cave, to the back, to the small room where the cradle sits. 

Empty. 

Frantically, he rips the blankets from the cradle, he scrambles through the room, he searches every corner, every loose rock, he returns to the main cave and crawls across every crack and crevice, before finally collapsing with a keening, cracking elegy, hands clawing at his hair, his face, his arms, despair eating through him like acid, he has lost everything. 

But Janus is not here. He is alive. He must be, he would know, he would know if his hatchling was dead. He will find him. Wherever Thomas has taken him, he will find him, then destroy everything Thomas has ever loved, everything Logan has ever loved, how dare he, how dare he, he thought Logan was above this, thought Logan would understand. 

“He will not be harmed, if you do not come back.” The voice rang out from everywhere and nowhere, the usually warm and kind voice cold and hard. He doesn’t understand, how could this have gone so wrong, how could Thomas have thought he would attack, how could he do this, be this cruel?!

“JANUS!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone curious, This is what Virgil's familiar looks like!  
> https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/yet-another-adorable-peacock-spider-discovered/


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damien wakes up and Logan comes to terms with some feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this helps clear up some confusion from last chapter.

He jolted awake, a scream dying on his lips, feeling as if all the air had been punched out of his lungs, still unable to see clearly before the images dancing in front of his eyes, wings, flight, sky, clouds, air, blood, scales, warmth, song, roars, soft churrs, his memories blending with hers, breaking his head, temples pulsing, pounding, screaming in agony. 

He was her, he was him, he was Linaria, he was Damien, he was Janus, he was a dragon, he was a human, he was, he is, he doesn’t…

“Sunshine, sunshine, sunshine, breathe.” He can’t, the request is so simple, but he can’t, dead, lifeless garnet eyes, deep crimson blood leaking from fanged mouths, acrid smoke and breaking fear, racing skies and screaming winds, plunging cliffs and rushing waterfalls. 

Sapphire eyes, indigo scales, curled around him, from nose to tail. He snuggles into the warmth, happily, his own small, unformed wings flapping happily as he scampers up her tail, perching on her head with a soft chirrup. She huffs, eyes opening, and he squeaks as she lifts her head, lifting him into the air. He slides down her neck, being caught by the scruff before he hits the ground, a rumbling laugh of amusement as he is set gently back in the circle of scales, all he can see, a low rumbling lullaby soothing him back to sleep. 

“Remus-“ he gasped out, knowing that’s who was whispering to him, trying to calm him, though he could feel others in the room as well, but it was Remus’s hands he was holding, clutching onto like a man lost at sea, the room shifting through memories and dreams and half thoughts so fast it gave him whiplash, made his head spin. “so much, too much, why can’t I stop it, I can’t… it’s me and it’s her and I… “ flashes of a battle, of anguished roars, of dying screams, a shifting, swirling wash of color and light, the place between worlds, then hard earth. “he meant to take me, but I got lost, in the melee, I got shifted between realms, I don’t know… if it was on purpose, an accident, to keep me safe or just to keep me out of his hands, I don’t know, I can’t stop it, it’s so loud, Remus, it’s so loud!” 

He falls into Remus’s arms, pained sobs tearing from his chest, deep in his heart, a place he didn’t even know existed, a place that had always silently wondered and pined after having a family and now he knew who his family was, and they would all willingly tear apart his fae without a second thought. 

“hush, love. I know. It’ll settle. Just give it time and it’ll settle.” He burrowed against Remus, trying to match his steady breathing, trying to calm the racing of his mind, trying to calm the pulsing racing beat of his heart. Finally, finally, the images started to slow, started to fade, and his vision cleared, though all he could see was the dark fabric of Remus’s shirt.

“remus…” he whispered, exhaustedly, every inch of his body sore and pounding and breaking and aching. 

“I’m here, Sunshine.” He felt Remus softly kiss his head, his temples, some of the pain receding at his gentle touch. He realized too that he could feel Patton, sending out waves of gentle calm, of soft serenity. 

“Most magical creatures pass memories to their young, it’s biological, something in your essence. It must have triggered when you shifted. You’re overwhelmed right now because your mind is trying to sort through the memories and emotions. 

“no. not the shift.” He whispered hoarsely, pulling back from Remus, eyes finding Logan’s, betrayal and pain and fear flashing through him, and for a moment he forgets who he is, tries to lunge at Logan. 

“you. How could you, how could you? You killed them all, you let him kill them all, she trusted you!” Logan stumbled back at his harsh screams, eyes wide as Anx shoved past him. 

“Dee, please. You gotta calm down, what are you talking about?” He collapsed against Anx, sobs starting once more as he curled so tight he could barely speak, the wash of emotion leaving him disoriented. 

“no, no, no, please, stop, please, not him, not me, not-“ He broke off, air ripping at his lungs, claws in his throat. He felt hands, carefully uncurling him, until his chin was held, firmly but gently, so he was staring at nothing but endless, aching green, his breath caught in his throat. 

“Breathe, Sunshine. Take a deep breath for me.” Shakily, he managed, each successive breath loosening his chest just a little more, clearing his mind just a bit more, until he was sure his thoughts were his own, until his emotions were just his, until he could separate the here and now from the then and there. 

“Dee?” He shivered as Remus stroked his cheek with his thumb, leaning into the touch with a soft sigh. 

“I’m here. I’m… me, again, I think. I’m sorry… I…” Remus stroked his cheek once more, smiling at the soft sigh. 

“What is it, love? What are you seeing?” 

“It was me. I was stolen. I was lost. In the battle, I got lost between realms.” 

“What are you saying, Dee?” Roman asked. 

“I’m her son. She was coming in peace, she didn’t mean any harm, she was ready to beg for land, for a chance, for anything, and he killed them, you killed them!” His eyes shot to Logan, who was frozen in place, shock on his face. 

“I didn’t… I never knew she was a dragon. I didn’t know she… how… Thomas wouldn’t…” 

“Whatever he said, he lied. He lied and I saw it, I see it, I feel it. It broke her. It killed her soul, it tore her apart, she wouldn’t be doing this if I hadn’t been taken away. I shouldn’t have been taken away.” He whispered, tears dripping down his face. “she loves me. I would have been loved, I would have grown up shifting, flying, it wouldn’t hurt like this now, I would have been happy, I would have been cared for, I would have been accepted, I-“ He broke off, a wash of aching pain and dizzying sorrow coiling in his gut.

“Oh, sunshine. You are loved. I’m so sorry, for all the pain and the hurt, I’m so sorry you got taken away from her, I’m so sorry you got hurt, you don’t deserve any of that, but we can’t change the past, we can’t go back and make it better, and I will never regret meeting you. I did not live until I met you.” Damien fell forwards into his embrace, crying as Remus wrapped his arms around him, holding him close and rocking him gently.

“I love you. I love you, I love you, I will always and forever love you. I promise.” Remus murmured, carefully pressing kisses to his head, his temples, anywhere he could reach. 

“I know. I love you too.” Came the soft reply, Damien’s face buried against his shirt. He rubbed his back, feeling Damien let out a shuddering sigh, falling limp against him as he once again succumbed to exhaustion.   
…  
Logan stumbled back, face a pale, sickly gray, as he slid down against the wall. Thomas… he wouldn’t have… but then again, how well had he truly known him? They were close, but they never shared all that much about their pasts, their own secrets. They both kept those close to their chests. Their friendship was borne out of academic interests, his role as advisor. He by no means knew every move the king made. 

He flashed back to that night. Thomas had burst into his chambers, said he had uncovered a plot by Linaria, that she wasn’t what she seemed. She was a witch, studying dragons, looking for a way to control them, to raise an army against the kingdom. She wanted to usurp the throne, take over the entire realm. He’d confronted her and she’d ran, but he thought they could cut her off. 

So they did, confronting her in the clearing before the forest. Magic swirling, fighting, crackling and crashing until in a moment of blinding light she simply… vanished. 

They had stayed on high alert for a few days, easing up after a week, when there was no sign of an incoming attack, no sign that Linaria was going to strike back in any way, and eventually their concern had waned, faded from memory. 

But... it had been odd, how unphased Thomas was by it all. How he seemed so confident she wouldn’t return, even their high alert hadn’t been what Logan would have deemed enough. 

And it had always puzzled him, a bit, she had never given him any pause, any reason to doubt her good intentions. They had grown close, as well, and her betrayal had later confused him, though in the moment he was too off guard to question it.

But if Thomas knew… it made a sick kind of sense. She was studying dragons, because that’s what she knew. A dragon could conjure magic stronger than any other, a glamour would cover any draconic traits easily. And the others, her flock, they would have been nearby, guarding the hatchling, for support in case anything went wrong. But if she wasn’t doing anything wrong, to begin with then- 

Then she was fleeing because something had scared her. Because Thomas had sent soldiers to destroy their nest, she was trying to get back to them, she knew they were in danger, she was trying to warn them, trying to help them, trying to save her hatchling. 

Thomas had been afraid of her, afraid of the dragons, and had punished them for his fear. He hadn’t told Logan the truth because then Logan would have never sided with him, he hid her true nature until the day he died, until the day she came back, fiery and angry and looking for justice. 

He was furious, he was angry, he was mourning, because what an opportunity they had lost, how amazing, living in harmony with dragons, how could Thomas have not seen the chance for mutual benefit? 

Killed them. And he had stalled her long enough. He had enabled it. How many dragons, had died that night, and he had never known? 

“logan. Logan, sweetie, I need you to breathe. Can you breathe with me?” Dimly, Patton’s voice filtered through his mind, hearing him inhaling and exhaling, and slowly, his vision cleared. 

“patton. He’s right. He’s… gods, what did I do?” He croaked out, dragging his hands across his face, shaking. “what did I do?” He said again, gasping as he curled in on himself, hands behind his head, pressed to his knees. 

“Lolo, please, breathe. You didn’t know. You couldn’t have.” 

She had trusted him. He was supposed to understand, supposed to sympathize, all their research together, time spent in the library, time spent pleasantly discussing translations of old documents, debating their meaning and accuracy. 

He would have been. Had she explained her situation, presented her case before Thomas, asked for land or space or area for her people, he would have offered to help, would have been on her side, would have helped plead her case. He was an idiot. He was a stupid, useless, idiot. And Linaria had suffered dearly for it, Deceit had suffered dearly for it, so much blood was on his hands, and he could never wipe them clean, could never remove Deceit’s angry, agonized expression as he looked at him through her eyes. 

“I need… I need to go… I…” he managed to stumble to his feet, running out the door, making it to the edge of the forest, leaning against a tree as his heart pounded, as he gasped for air, before grabbed a tree for balance and retched, wiping his mouth with his sleeve after, heedless of sanitation, ears buzzing with white noise. He furiously scrubbed at his cheeks, hating the wetness that rolled down them, and he bit down on his sleeve in an effort to keep from sobbing aloud. 

“Logan!” He could see the light shining from the doorway as Patton rushed outside, chasing after him. Without thinking, he slipped into the shadows, melting into them, perfectly concealed. He didn’t want to be seen, right now. He wasn’t worthy of being seen. 

“logan. Sweetheart. Please. Please come out. Please let me help.” He looked up from where he’d slid down the trunk of the tree, dimly surprised to see Patton looking down at him, nearly directly in the eye. He swallowed, closing his eyes with a sigh as he let the shadows drop. “there you are.” Patton murmured softly, handing him a cup of water. Logan took it, downing it in one swallow, swiping at his eyes again as he looked away, setting the cup down. 

“how… how did you do that?” He asked, unable to stop his curiosity even now. 

“Oh, lo. You know I get a general sense cause of emotions. And… the more familiar I am with someone, the closer I am to them, the… more I care, the easier to pinpoint exactly where those emotions are resonating from. And… there’s no one I care more for than you.” Patton answered softly. Logan’s eyes flew to his, something a bit wild in them, something a bit soft. 

“Patton.” Logan’s voice was choked with tears, but it was impossibly soft. Impossibly sad, and Patton stumbled, staggered back at the wave of emotion washing over him. Because it was sorrow and sadness and regret. But above it all, was a sweet, singing noise of soft, gentle, adoring, love. The kind he had never felt from Logan before, the kind that was usually clouded in confusion or being pushed aside or held back by uncertainty. 

“Patton.” Logan said again, a bit awed, at his own stubbornness, that it took him this long to admit what he felt, to accept it and show it, when Patton had deserved it from day one. When he’d felt this, from day one. 

Patton had stumbled, back against a tree as he shook his head, arms wrapped around his middle, wings sagging against the ground. He gasped as Logan cupped his cheek, not having noticed him moving. He was close, they were inches apart and he wanted nothing more than to reach out, to feel Logan close against him. 

“logan… don’t…don’t do this now.” He choked out, though he didn’t move away, breath catching as he met Logan’s eyes. 

“Why? Why not, Pat? Why shouldn’t I?” He whispered, thumb stroking Patton’s cheek, causing the pixie to shiver. 

“you’re upset. You’re looking for an outlet for those feelings. A way to stop them from overwhelming you. Don’t do this because of that. Don’t do this and regret it tomorrow. Don’t… don’t give me this and then take it all back later when you’re thinking clearly. Don’t do this unless you mean it.” 

Logan removed his hand from Patton’s cheek, and for a moment, he mourned the loss, because Logan was going to pull away, now. Going to stumble out an apology, going to back away, say he wasn’t thinking clearly. 

Instead, Logan’s arms came to rest on the tree, on either side of him, pinning him there, and he leaned in close, those dark eyes all he could see, before lips met in a silent explosion of fiery color that melted into bliss as he folded into Logan, wings fluttering softly, and he was lost in the feeling, the overwhelming pure love, filling every atom of his being, Logan’s love warming him from the inside out, and it was so pure and true and soft he gasped against Logan’s lips. 

Then Logan pulled back, and he fell into Logan’s embrace, feeling warmth bloom against his back, where Logan’s hands were resting, just barely touching the sensitive base of his wings, making him shudder, throwing his arms around the taller fae’s neck, pressing a kiss to the underside of his jaw before burrowing his face against Logan’s chest, vibrating with mindless bliss as Logan swayed, gently rubbing his back, melting him further, until he was practically part of Logan. 

“I… love you. I love you, Patton.” Logan murmured, resting his head atop Patton’s, letting out a small, disbelieving laugh at the swelling of joy that threatened to overwhelm him, unable to help the grin slowly spreading across his face as he said those words, the light Patton held in his eyes as he looked up at him, sparking with hope and joy and love. 

Breathless, he stepped away, taking Patton’s hand, twirling him around once before dipping him, spinning him as they moved upright again, pulling him close to his chest once more, arms resting on Patton’s slim waist, his burbling brook laugh filling the forest, tears slipping down his face as Logan leaned down, kissing his throat, relishing the soft noise that escaped Patton’s lips as he kissed along his jaw line, finally meeting his soft lips once more. 

“I love you.” He murmured softly as their lips parted, tears slipping down his face as his hands slid off Patton’s waist, instead intertwining their fingers together, Patton looking at him like he was the only one in the world, flushed and breathless and he loved it, loved him, loved everything about him, more than he knew how to say, more than he could ever express, and he had never been good at expressing himself. 

“I know. I can feel it, Lo. I… it’s so much. How… how did you hide this? I got glimpses, sometimes, I had thought that maybe… maybe you liked me, too, but this… Logan, I’ve never felt anything like this…” Logan smiled, brushing a hand through Patton’s hair, glossing lightly over his antennae. 

“I was afraid, I think. Of feeling that much, of letting myself feel that much. But I’m not anymore. Not… not with you, patton.” Patton didn’t think he’d ever get tired of seeing this look on Logan, this softness in his eyes, the adoring smile as he looked at him like he was the worlds most precious treasure trove, and he couldn’t help but let out another bubbling laugh, then his hands were in Logan’s hair, and Logan’s hands were back on his waist, and his wings were buzzing so fast he’d lifted off the ground, leaning down to kiss Logan again, because now that he could, it is all he ever wanted to do.


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil is back on the roof. Roman goes and finds him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who wants some prinxiety hurt/comfort? Cause here comes a full dose of it.

Virgil was on the roof again. Logan had run outside, Patton following in his wake. Damian was out again, and Roman and Remus had been talking softly. His own head was swirling too much, after everything that had happened today, anxiety pressing down on him, and he needed space, so he’d slipped outside and up the tree.

His knees were pulled tight to his chest, arms hugging them close as he quietly rocked back and forth, trying to keep his breathing from becoming frantic, trying to do as Logan had shown him, and just breathe, but it was so hard, why was it so hard, to just breathe like a normal person?

Because he was useless. He already knew this, but it just had to keep being shown to him, he apparently never learned his lesson. He hated it, hated his uselessness, hated his cowardice, hated, strongly and with the most conviction, himself. Once again, he had failed to protect Damien. He had failed to protect anyone. He couldn’t even protect himself, what a failure, what a waste, what an utter disappointment. 

He could feel his familiar cuddling against his neck, cooing soothingly, could feel that little connection in his mind, where the spider was trying his best to send him calming energy, to siphon off some of the wavering power starting to leak from him, but he felt the shadows growing darker, anyway, starting to swirl around him mindlessly, though it wouldn’t be long now before their vitriol started. 

He could stop it, he could stop them, he could control them, they weren’t anything to be afraid of, if he could just breathe, but he couldn’t, he was trying so hard and he couldn’t. 

“say it. What are you?” he didn’t look up at the silhouette before him, he already knew who it was, he already knew that voice. “Well, boy?” He closed his eyes, hunching over further, hands tangling in his hair, pulling at it for the relief those sharp pinpricks of pain brought to him, wishing for something sharper, something icier, to cut through him until he looked as destroyed as he felt. 

“I’m a stupid, useless, broken piece of trash, okay? I know it! I know I am! I know I’m worthless, I know I’m nothing, I know I don’t matter, I wish I weren’t here, I wish I were dead! Is that what you want me to say!? Because it’s true, alright? I’ve never said it out loud, but it’s true! I wish I were dead!” he shouted, glaring up at the shadow, slamming his fist on the hard wood of the roof, the snap of pain in his knuckles like a bucket of cold water being dumped on his head, and the shadows vanished as quick as they came, leaving him looking up at a pale, wide eyed Roman, standing just behind where his shadow had been. 

Virgil paled, because now Roman would think he was even more a moron than he already had, what kind of fool said they wanted to die, what kind of idiot said that when Dee had already nearly died, when Logan’s cousin was gravely injured, when there were so many more serious problems to handle than his own negativity, if he could just stop being such a baby, everything would be fine. It’s not like he was hurt, not like he was injured, he was fine, he just needed to stop and he’d be fine. 

He scrambled back as Roman took a step closer, pressing himself back against the chimney, feeling as if his throat was closing up on him, his breath wheezing in and out, darkness closing in on the corners of his vision, and he shook violently. 

“don’t… please… just… go away!” He rasped, fingernails digging into his palms, so hard he was drawing blood, but he didn’t care, it wasn’t enough, nothing was enough, he wasn’t enough, he’d never be enough. “pleasejustgoaway” he whispered, curling into himself, digging his nails deeper into his skin, biting back his hiss of pain, because he deserved it, he deserved this, he wanted something he could name as his hurt, something visible that could be fixed, instead of everything inside him that couldn’t. 

“anx. Listen to me. Can you do that? Just listen?” He could barely hear Roman’s voice over his own wheezing breaths, the white noise rushing through his skull and flaring through his vision, but he nodded, he could hear Roman. 

“Ok. Good, that’s good. I’m going to count, alright? Try and breath with the counting, if you can. There’s no pressure. Just whatever you can do, whenever you can do it. Alright?” He managed a small nod, letting Roman’s words filter in through the noise in his mind, trying to focus on them and only them every time his mind started slipping back into darkness, until his gasping finally petered out into normal, deep breaths as he seemed to slip back into his own skin from whatever dissociative state he’d entered, slumping back against the chimney. 

“ok?” His familiar asked, and he reached up, letting him slip onto his hand, gently stroking his back for comfort as he held him up to his face. 

“yes… and no.” he replied shakily, managing a weak smile as the spider cooed in concern, hugging his nose with his two forelegs, before climbing up his face and into his hair, gently kneading his hair with his little legs. 

“Anx?” He flinched back, he’d somehow managed to forget Roman was there, and he bit his lip furiously, refusing to look up at him, refusing to see whatever disgust or pity was in his eyes. “you’re bleeding.” He looked down at his hands numbly, only half surprised to see the deep, crescent moon marks, crimson dripping down his hands. It stung, only half as much as he wished it did. 

“do you wanna come inside, and we can get those all taken care of?” Roman asked softly, and he stuffed his hands back in his pockets, tearing his gaze away from them, raw guilt gnawing at him, because surely, Roman had better things to be doing than trying to coax him off the roof like a scared cat. He didn’t understand why Roman was still here, why he was still doing this, why still pretend like he cares? 

“no. I just want you to leave me alone!” He forced anger he didn’t feel into his voice, forced the hint of an echo into it, forced his shadows to the surface again, swirling around him, trying to push Roman away. “You should leave me alone.” He growled, finally meeting Roman’s eyes with his burning, electric stare, a dark kind of satisfaction racing through him as the prince took a step back. 

Then something hardened in Roman’s expression. He squared his shoulders, stepping forwards, his own eyes sparking fiery orange. 

“No.” He said, firmly, as Virgil got to his feet, still shaky, wreathed in smoky darkness. 

“No? You’re dumber than you look, Princey.” Virgil growled, a sick smile twisting his face, as his shadows swirled before him, forming a towering, wraith like figure. He rolled out of the way as it swiped at him, dodging its smoky tendrils. His hand went to his hilt, but he hesitated. 

This wasn’t a monster. 

This was Anxiety. 

It was his worries, his fears, his loathing, his pain. You couldn’t defeat that kind of hurt with a sword. And he wouldn’t turn any weapon on Anx, no matter what happened, he wouldn’t. Because in a twisted kind of way, that’s exactly what Anx wanted. What he thought he deserved, to be slain like some monster. And it broke Roman’s heart even more than the words he’d heard Anx yell had.

He yelped as the wraith batted him across the roof, just barely catching the edge of the wood and managing to pull himself back up, just in time to get hit by a blast of icy dark power. It froze him in place for a moment, filling him with fear and negativity and a burning, endless, aching, misery.

He blinked his vision clear, looking up at the beast towering over him, eyes wide with sympathy. Slowly, he stood, hands held placatingly in front of him as the shadow monster growled lowly. 

“Hey now. I’m not going to harm you, ok? Here,” it growled as his hand hovered over his hilt, and he stopped. “I’m just gonna get rid of this, alright?” He unbuckled his belt, dropping it over the edge of the roof, his sword hitting the ground with a soft thump. 

“I know you’re scared. And I know you’re hurting. There’s so much hurt there, right? I know it’s overwhelming. And I know you’re trying to seem big and scary because you don’t want anyone to get close to you, because you’re afraid of getting even more hurt, or maybe you think you don’t deserve that, or maybe both.” He took a careful step closer, the shadow monster watching him with burning eyes, but it made no move to attack. “But you won’t scare me away. You aren’t a monster. You never have been. You never will be. Let me help you, Anx. I just want to help.” Another step closer, and he was close enough to touch the shadows. Slowly, he reached out, resting his hand atop the shadow being’s. “let me help you.” He pleaded. 

For a moment, nothing changed. Then the shadow being collapsed, leaving the roof covered in a dark fog. It cleared quickly, and Roman cautiously made his way across the roof, kneeling before Anx, who was curled in a tight ball against the wood, hands laced across the back of his neck, shaking. His familiar was cooing softly in his ear, perched on his shoulder, but he stopped when Roman knelt down, scurrying up to his ear instead, giving off an aura of afraid worry. 

“why? Why do you… care? Why would you… I’m nothing, I’m no one, I’m worthless, I’m a waste, you should give up on me now, before I rub off on you, and ruin you, like everything else.” 

“no. I won’t. I won’t ever give up on you, Anx, even if you give up on yourself, I won’t ever give up on you.” He said softly, alarmed as Anx somehow managed to curl even tighter, seeming even smaller than he already had.

“I’m nothing, I’m no one, I don’t matter.” Roman let out a pained noise, sliding closer to Anx. He desperately wanted to reach out, to hold him until he could make the pain go away, but he was afraid to touch him, afraid to send him spiraling once more. 

“that’s not true, moon beam, you matter, you matter, sweetness.” 

“I don’t! I don’t, I never have, I don’t, I don’t, I..” Anx looked up at him finally, his eyes puffy, the complete despair in them making Roman choke back his own tears, because no one should feel that lost, should look that broken. 

He couldn’t help it anymore, and he reached out, careful and slow like approaching a scared deer. Anx only hesitated for a moment, then he fell into Roman’s arms, sobbing, still curled so tight he was practically a ball against Roman’s chest, as he wrapped his arms around Anx, trying so hard to convey even a fraction of the love he felt for the human to him. 

“I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have to deal with me. I shouldn’t be like this. Nothing… nothing even happened to me! Not like it happened to Dee, or to Logan, or to his cousin! I didn’t get hurt, or have my entire world flipped upside down, I should be fine, why am I never fine?” Anx rasped out furiously, starting to pull away, but Roman stopped him, hands on his shoulders. 

“Don’t apologize. You went through trauma, too. It’s not a game of who had it worse. It doesn’t work like that. You are allowed to be upset and angry and sad, you are entitled to your feelings. Someone else’s “worse” experience does not cancel out your own or lessen it, somehow. It doesn’t null your hurt. And you have so, so much hurt.” He murmured gently, Anx’s eyes wide, a stricken look on his face, almost as if he’d been punched, and for a moment Roman thought he was going to flee. 

Then Anx slumped against him, forehead resting against his chest as he silently cried, hands fisting the fabric of his shirt, and Roman brought his arms around the trembling human, softly rocking him back and forth. 

“why does it hurt? Why does it hurt like this? It never hurt like this before.” Virgil whispered, voice cracked and broken. 

“because you’re just now learning how much you were wronged. Because you’re seeing that you are normal and perfect and your magic is just a part of you. Because you know now that everything they put you through, all the fear and the pain and the repression was unnecessary. Because… because we all love you, and you’re realizing now that the people you grew up with never did.” 

Virgil didn’t respond, but his breathing hitched, as he squeezed Roman’s shirt tighter, trying to fight back the tidal wave of aching misery threatening to drown him, tear him apart at the seams, because Roman was right, all this hatred, all this seething, burning loathing, stemmed from what he’d been taught, told, his whole life. And seeing Remus with Damien, Patton’s kindness, Logan’s care, Roman’s patience, he’d never had that. Never been treated like that. Never been looked at like that.

Never been loved.

“don’t… don’t go, please, don’t go, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it, don’t let go, please, pleasepleaseplease…” 

“Shhh. Shhh. I’m not going to go, I know, I know, sweetness. I’m not going anywhere, I’m not going anywhere, sweetness.” Virgil couldn’t stop shaking, couldn’t stop the endless sobs wracking his frame, couldn’t control the endless waves of anguish ripping him apart at the seams. 

“sorry, I’m sorry, I’m-“ He was cut off as Roman pulled back, pressing a finger against Anx’s lips, his other hand smoothing back Anx’s hair, before settling on the small of his back. 

“no more apologies. You didn’t hurt me. We’re both ok. So no more apologizing. Alright?” 

“ok.” He let his hand fall away from Anx’s lips, conscious of how little space there was between them, now, as he rested his hand on Anx’s knee, flushing. 

“You know… you know you would be missed, right? If… if you were gone. I… I would miss you. Gods know Deceit would. And Patton and Logan already adore you. I… adore you.” Anx flushed at that, eyes flickering up to meet Roman’s for just a second, before he looked away again, a sigh on his lips. 

“You shouldn’t.” Anx whispered. 

“But I do. And you aren’t going to scare me off like that, Anx. Because I know, it’s a defense mechanism, I know you’re afraid and trying to keep yourself safe, but you don’t need to be afraid. You don’t need to be afraid of yourself. You don’t need to be afraid of me.” 

“I’m not afraid of you.” Anx answered immediately, so quickly it startled Roman. “I…I hate myself. I hate myself so much. How do I stop hating myself? Why do I hate myself? Why don’t you hate me? Why… why…” Roman’s breath caught at that, and he pulled Anx close, once again, cradling him in his arms, gently running his hand up and down his arms, head pressed against his hair, as he felt him begin to shake again, knowing tears were dripping down his face once more. 

“sorry.” Anx gasped out, and he frowned, kissing his forehead. 

“I thought we agreed no more apologies. There’s nothing to be sorry for. You have nothing to be sorry for.” Anx bit his lip, to keep from apologizing again for apologizing. Eventually, the silence was broken by Roman, humming softly, a mindless, soothing tune, and Virgil found himself slowly relaxing against Roman, the sound giving his mind something to follow, a path out of his own twisted thoughts. 

“thanks.” He managed, after who knows how long, feeling Roman leaning over to press another soft kiss to his head. Instead, Virgil tilted his own head back, meeting Roman’s lips with his own in a soft, gentle kiss.

“anx…” Roman whispered, pulling back, Anx’s dark eyes glittering up at him, their lips still just a hair’s breadth apart. “we should get you inside, my dark eclipse. I still need to tend to those hands of yours.” Roman murmured, not protesting as Anx pressed another kiss to his lips, finding himself holding Anx closer, melting against him, until they finally parted for breath, Anx letting out a soft sigh, head gently thumping against Roman’s chest. 

“I don’t think I can climb down. I barely managed to get up here, in the first place.” Anx mumbled into his shirt, and he smiled, shaking his head fondly. 

“If you can hold on to me, I can climb down with the both of us.” 

It’s awkward and a bit of a bumpy landing, but they made it to the ground in once piece, and though Anx was shaky on his feet, he refused to let Roman carry him further, though he did let the prince keep an arm wrapped around his shoulders, choosing to ignore his familiar deciding to stay atop Roman’s head, flushing furiously at the contentment radiating from him. 

“Come on. There’s bandages in the back room.” Roman murmured, leading Anx deeper into the house, shaking his head and mouthing later at the concerned look Remus shot his way. 

Anx was silent as Roman led him into Patton’s back work room, filled with benches and cupboards, drying plants hanging from the ceiling, filling the whole room with a deep, earthy, scent. Anx easily hopped up onto one of the counters, watching closely as Roman scrounged in one of the low cupboards, cursing as he bumped his head, a small snort escaping Anx as he emerged, rubbing the back of his head. 

“hands.” Roman said softly. He only hesitated a moment before sighing, holding his hands palm up. Roman carefully took each of them in turn, gently dabbing away the blood and making sure the cuts were clean, before drying them and wrapping them in bandages. “there we go. Feel better?” Roman asked, still softly holding each of Anx’s hands in his own, meeting those incredible dark eyes, which were looking back at him with an unfathomable gaze. 

“yeah. Just a bit.” The human murmured, something soft settling on his face, before he looked away, biting his lip, but Roman could see the small pull upwards at the corner of his lips. “thanks.” 

“of course, sweetness. Anything I can do I will gladly give. Anything for you.” Anx blushed an adorable shade of pink, the smile growing just a tad as he looked back up at Roman, the sincerity in his gaze almost incomprehensible. Then he rolled his eyes. 

“Would you get back over here?” Roman was confused for a moment, before taking a step forwards, grinning as Virgil let out a startled laugh, giving up on trying to stifle it after a moment, and oh, he had been right. 

That laugh was creaky, rarely used, but it was real and ringing and breathy and beautiful. 

“Not you, you wonderful idiot, I was talking to the spider trying to build a web on your head.” 

“What?!” He yelped, reaching up and scooping the spider into his hands, setting him down on the counter, making a face as he frantically swatted away the cobwebs in his hair. “Not cool, my adorable arachnid. Not cool.” He said accusingly, the spider chittering sheepishly, making Virgil snort, stroking his back. 

“He says your hair is so soft he thought you wouldn’t notice the spider silk, since it would blend right in.” 

“Oh! Well, thank you, I do take immaculate care of my hair, can’t be a prince charming without the charm!” 

“Oh, is that what you were going for? Between the horsie baby talk and the dumbstruck staring I thought you were going for village idiot.” Anx replied, grinning at Roman’s offended noise, hand resting dramatically against his forehead.

“You wound me, sir dark and stormy, how shall I recover from a blow straight to the heart?” Anx rolled his eyes, hopping to his feet, planting a soft kiss against Roman’s cheek, then his lips, letting the fae wrap his arms around him. 

“You’ll live, princey.” He murmured, pulling back with a small smile, sighing against Roman’s chest, closing his eyes at the overwhelming warmth, the sense of strength and safety his embrace radiated. 

“Anx? Are you… alright?” Roman asked hesitantly, slowly swaying with Virgil. 

“no. not really.” He whispered. 

“oh. Is there… anything I can do?” 

“just… just stay? Please?” 

“Always, dear heart. That will never be in question. As long as you’ll have me, I’ll be here.” Roman murmured, kissing the top of Anx’s head. “Now, let’s get you cozied up, shall we? It’s been a long day, storm cloud.” Anx murmured something affirmative, letting Roman pull away, though he sought out his hand, intertwining their fingers, holding his other out to the counter. 

“Come on, you.” His spider wiggled his butt happily, scurrying up to his shoulder, tucking his legs under him so he looked like a little spider loaf. “you helped me a lot today, too, y’know. Thanks bud.” He mumbled, petting his spider, whom purred happily. 

He let Roman tug him out the door, across the hall into a guest room. Roman hesitated a moment in the doorway, before Anx rolled his eyes and pulled him inside, flopping down on the bed, pulling Roman down with him with a startled oof from the prince.

“So needy, when you aren’t trying to kill me.” Roman muttered, as Virgil snuggled against him, curling tight against his chest. 

“please, that wasn’t me trying to kill you. That was my magic trying to scare you. If I was trying to kill you, you would be dead.” Virgil replied sleepily, and Roman snorted, wrapping his arms around the human, resting their foreheads together. 

“Whatever you say, starlight.” Roman replied, kissing Anx’s forehead, smiling at the soft sigh that escaped the human’s lips. “I want you to feel safe, always. I want you to be comfortable and happy and protected. I want to show you how wonderful and brave and smart you truly are, Anx. I want… I want to love you, forever and always, no matter how much you think you don’t deserve it, you do, love.” Anx’s deep, dark eyes were staring into his again, so close they were all he could see, and he was drowning in their depths, in that endless, fathomless, stare. He didn’t know what Anx was looking for, but he must have found it, as he reached up, tilting Roman’s head down, capturing his lips with his own in a soft, feather light kiss. 

“Virgil.” Anx whispered, a mere breath against his lips. 

“What?” Roman murmured, confused, half drunk on Anx’s affection, smiling stupidly against Anx’s lips. 

“my name. Is Virgil.” He froze, eyes wide, stuttering, at a loss for words. “breathe, princey.” He inhaled a breath, not realizing he’d stopped breathing, still grinning as he kissed Virgil again, running his hands through Virgil’s soft hair, stroking his thumb across his forehead. 

“Virgil. Virgil, Virgil, Virgil, Virgil…” 

“Don’t wear it out, Roman.” Virgil laughed. 

“I could never. It sounds like morning rain, like sparkling sunsets, like songbirds in a spring chorus, like the echoes of the last chords of a ballad, like the sweetest, lightest summer breeze.” Virgil was flushing now, a brilliant shade of red, and he groaned, hiding his head against Roman’s chest. 

“I immediately regret everything.” He moaned, Roman chuckled, kissing Virgil’s head once more. 

“Get used to it, knightmare. I’ll stop singing your praises when you start believing them.” 

“That… is never gonna happen.” 

“Exactly.” Roman answered smugly, Virgil groaning again, but he could hear the smile in it, the laughter at the edge of his voice, and he grinned. 

“You are a clueless moron.” 

“Oh, absolutely. But I’m your clueless moron now, Virgil. Now stop griping and go to sleep.” He murmured, feeling Virgil yawn against him, somehow melting even more into his touch. 

“you can’t tell me what to do.” Virgil grumbled, drifting off to Roman’s soft laughter, warm and, for once, feeling absolutely safe.


	27. Going on a break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exactly what it sounds like

So I've been really struggling to write this lately, because I have two conflicting ideas on where I want this story to go, and I'm having a difficult time deciding how I want to swing this. So for the month of August, I'm going to be taking a break from posting chapters (ignore last week and this one, they don't count) to figure out where I want to go, and I'll have definitley a new chapter, and hopefully a solid plan, up the first Monday in September. I'm still going to be posting chapters of all the other stuff I'm working on whenever i have it, this is just extra special to me and I want to make it right. It's by far the longest story I've ever done, and I'm so invested in the outcome.   
Thanks everyone for reading this, it's still crazy to me that people actually care to read the fanfic I make, and all the comments make me so happy, and thanks for being patient with me as well!

See you back here on this story in a month!


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang reconvenes and takes stock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUESS WHO'S BACK  
> BACK AGAIN
> 
> I know how I want to do this, now, though I don't have it all written yet, I have a vague plan (which is usually what I'm working with) But I think we're reaching the end of the main story. I may continue it with shorter chapters about moments or situations with the characters, but we'll see. 
> 
> This obviously isn't the last chapter, but expect only two or three more, unless my mind goes wild again (which it could). Just a little heads up to prepare you all and let you know what's going on.
> 
> I may post on alternating Mondays depending on how fast I crank this baby out, so don't be too surprised if there's not an update next week.
> 
> Thanks for being patient, and as always, thanks for reading!

“Janus.” He turned at that voice, looking around. It was a smooth, rocky floor, distant gray instead of any walls, a strange in between plain. It echoed with soft whispers and distant voices, lit by flickering firelight, though no fire was actually present. And there, before him, was Linaria. His… mother. 

“That isn’t my name.” He said flatly, taking a step back for her step forwards, a flash of pain crossing her face as she stopped. 

“It’s what I named you. Janus Brightscale of the Storm Wing clan.”

“Well. That isn’t who I’ve chosen to be. I am Damien Alexander Lyre, partner of Remus Azazel Everthorn, second prince of the realm, and you hold no claim to me.” He replied coldly. Linaria hissed and drew back.

“Do not say that name. Everthorn, you saw what they did, you know the blood on their hands. On Logan's hands.” She spat, and he threw up his hands in frustration.

“Logan didn’t know! And the princes were children, Remus was a baby, they didn’t have anything to do with this!”

“Blood debts must be paid-" his eyes darkened and he growled, stalking forwards.

“How’s this for a blood debt, mother?” He hissed, letting his form ripple, pulling on the loose threads of reality in this place, shifting his appearance, gasping at the pain washing through him, gritting his teeth to stay upright. Gods, he didn’t remember it hurting this much. 

“this is what Remus saved me from. He had no reason to. I gave him my name. He could have used me however he wanted, but he didn’t. He treated me kindly, treated me like a person, he saved me in every sense of the word. So you need payment for your debt? Consider this your payment.” He spat, dizziness washing over him, he could feel his blood pooling on the ground under him, dripping from his torn off scales, his burns seeping, the slashes deep in his skin aching and he shivered, remembering the cold. He heard something, a distant gasp of horror, felt a hand on his cheek, then it went dark.  
…

He shifted, taking a deep breath, eyes blearily blinking open. He could feel someone's hand on his back, thumb gently massaging the back of his neck, and he purred, nuzzling closer, smiling as a soft hand cupped his cheek, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips. 

“Hey, Sunshine. Feeling better?” he stretched, sitting upright, taking count of his aches and pains, finding very few.

“yes. Let’s never do that again.” Remus laughed brightly, a relieved sound, and he smiled.

“that may be unavoidable. Good news is, shouldn’t hurt as much.”

“shouldn’t have hurt at all. Did it all the time as a kid.” He muttered, pushing back his hair with a sigh. 

“you did?” He sunk back against Remus, nodding.

“I got some memories from her. Some… some of mine. I would just naturally shift, between the two. S'pose I lost that when I ended up in the human world. Less magic. Harder to do. I’m sorry. For freaking out on you, on… Logan.” Remus shushed him.

“you’re fine, lovely.” They looked up at the sound of footsteps, Remus grinning and Damien smirking as Roman stumbled down the hallway, sleep mussed and frazzled, Virgil half a step behind, their hands entwined as they both shuffled past them to the kitchen. Remus couldn’t resist letting out a wolf whistle, Roman simply flipping him off as they vanished into the kitchen, the smell of coffee starting to fill the house.

“Took them long enough.” Remus grumbled, making Damien snort. 

“Well, not everyone can have the incredible restraint you showed, falling in love with me in a single day.” He grinned at Remus’s laugh, smiling as he pressed their foreheads together, melting against the touch easily, basking in his presence and soft warmth.

“I love you.” He breathed out, feeling Remus’s hand come to rest against his cheek, nuzzling into it with a soft breath. 

“I know, sunshine. I love you too. So much, darling.” Remus kissed him, soft and deep, before pulling away, intertwining their hands. “shall we go attempt to wrangle up some breakfast? I don’t know about your Anx, but Roman can’t cook to save his life.” He chuckled, letting Remus pull him to his feet, brushing another quick kiss against his cheek. 

“Anx barely feeds himself. I doubt he can make toast without setting something aflame.” 

“Then he really is well suited for Roman.” 

“What about Roman?” Roman asked, hearing Remus’s comment as they entered the kitchen. 

“Remus was just telling me about your lovely cooking skills.” He slipped past Roman, gently turning him away from the counters and pushing him into a chair. “And just how fond you are of playing with fire. Makes sense now, why you keep nearly getting burned to a crisp.” Roman spluttered indignantly, though his heart soared at the small laugh it got out of Virgil, who had slipped his chair closer, holding his hand under the table.

“has anyone seen Patton and Logan yet?” Virgil mumbled, glancing around a bit worriedly. 

“Nope, but I wouldn’t let it bother you too much. They have been pining after each other for ages, I wouldn’t be surprised if after everything yesterday, one of them caved in. Who knows what they spent the night doing?” Remus asked, raising an eyebrow and doing a shoulder shimmy that had Roman groaning and thumping his head on the table, Damien barely managing to stifle a laugh cracking through his disapproving façade. 

“Not in front of the children, please.” Virgil muttered, scrunching up his face in distaste, until Damien set a mug of coffee on the table in front of him, and he brightened up, taking a sip. 

“Dark as the void, just like your soul!” Damien sing songed, and Virgil rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair. 

“Wouldn’t have it any other way- hey, no, get out of there!” He cut himself off as his spider teetered on the edge of the cup, barely catching him before he fell in. “Coffee is not for spiders!” He scolded, setting him back on his shoulder. 

“Not good!” It chirped, rubbing its face with its forelegs, as if trying to get the taste out of its mouth. 

“That’s the point. It’s so bad, it’s good. Startles you awake.” 

“Not if you’re actually drinking the good stuff, babe.” They all froze, heads whipping towards the doorway, taking in the fae that stood there, Roman and Remus’s eyes widening. “Love Patton to death, but he’s more of a tea guy. Wouldn’t know a good cup of coffee if it was poured into his mouth.” 

“Soooo Imma say you’re Logan’s cousin, since you’re practically his clone.” Remus said, staring hard at Remy, not liking that his eyes were hidden behind dark lenses. 

“yup. And you are his boys.” Remy smiled, a soft, bittersweet thing. “it’s nice to actually meet you two. I’ve heard a lot about you both, mostly how exasperating you are, and how much Lo loves you. Both from Lo himself, by the by.” Virgil snorted at Roman’s slightly offended sound, Damien rolling his eyes at Remus’ grin, too sharp teeth showing. 

“I am ninety two percent certain that you are not supposed to be out of bed.” Virgil said, and Remy raised a brow. 

“That is very specific.” 

“I’m very specific when it comes to predicting devastating futures where everyone I care about gets hurt, so, it’s kinda my thing.” He shrugged, huffing as his familiar started scolding and reassuring him in equal measure, Roman glancing at him, and he looked away, back at his coffee. 

“wow. You got problems, kid.” He snorted, taking another sip from his mug. 

“Tell me something I don’t know.” He muttered, feeling Roman squeeze his leg in support. 

“My cousin is currently coming back inside from a busy night spent canoodling your pixie pal.” Remy answered, smirking at the door opening, the soft sound of Logan’s voice filling the vacuum of silence as he and Patton came around the corner. 

He froze as he saw Remy, leaning casually against the counter, raising an eyebrow. 

“Generally, when one has been slashed across the chest by a dragon then nearly bled to death, they spend the next few days lying in bed and resting, like a sensible person.” Remy shrugged, almost managing to hide his wince at the motion. 

“I’m not exactly what you’d call a sensible person, Logan, unless I’ve lost my edge.” 

“Logan, is there something different about you?” Remus cut in giddily, already grinning ear to ear, causing Logan to look at him suspiciously. 

“I am unsure what you mean, Remus.” 

“Oh, I see it too, Ree, he’s almost glowing with vivaciousness!” Logan glared daggers at Remy, who was struggling to hide his laughter behind his hand. 

“What could have caused such a transformation, Roman? Surely our pining parental figure must finally have given in to his untamable lust.” Remus replied, sending Logan into a spluttering, defensive mess, Patton giggling while blushing uncontrollably, Remy laughing so hard he thought he might have pulled some stitches, Damien simply rolled his eyes, shaking his head fondly, and Virgil laughed, a soft, full laugh, unable to contain his own mirth at the fae’s reactions. 

“I swear if we weren’t related, I would have killed you myself.” Logan muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“Oh, come on, cuz, you know you love me!” 

“Do not test me, Remy. I love Patton. I merely tolerate you.” He replied, eliciting a chorus of ‘oooohhhhs’ from the young adults sitting around the table. 

“Play nice, you two. I’m going to start on breakfast. Everyone needs to eat something after… everything, that happened yesterday.” Patton said, kissing Logan on the cheek fondly, causing the taller fae to blush, before clearing his throat, recovering his senses. 

“If you’re going to stay out here, would you at least sit in a proper chair?” Logan huffed, glancing at Remy, who sighed and rolled his eyes, but did plop down into a seat, though he kicked it back, balancing it on its two back legs. “Why do I even bother?” Logan muttered, flicking Remy’s head as he passed by him, starting to help Patton cook breakfast. 

“Rude.” Remy retorted, looking at Logan from over his glasses. Logan just rolled his eyes, ignoring his cousin. 

“Hey, you wanna hear about Logan… breaking the rules?” Remy fake whispered conspiratorially. Logan grit his teeth, trying to ignore him. 

“Yes! What did he do? Kill someone? Break a window? Stab a fool?” Remus supplied, Virgil face planting against the table. 

“It is too early for me to handle you.” He grumbled, leaning into the supportive arm Roman rested across his shoulders. 

“If you must know, I broke into the library’s secret archives. I discovered their existence by listening in on the elder’s meetings, as well as carefully interviewing and asking older fae suspicious questions, on the grounds of researching local legends and history. The information I found there is largely the cause of my defection from The Night Woods. Now, may we please move on?” Logan asked, though his voice brooked no argument. 

“Ok, little touchy, clearly someone hasn’t had their coffee yet.” Remy snarked back, grinning at Logan’s scowl. 

“How did you get kicked out, Remmington?” It was Remy’s turn to scowl, at the use of his full name, glowering at the back of Logan’s head, whom he was sure was smirking. 

“I never followed the rules, Lo, you know that. Finally stood up against the elders one too many times, and they got sick of me. Not much of a mystery, there.” 

“No, I suppose not.” Logan replied, setting a plate of toast and jam on the table, a softer smile on his lips, now, as he appraised his cousin, softening further as Patton came back into the room with plates of pancakes and eggs, unable to help the dark blush that overtook his face as Patton once again kissed his cheek, leaving him momentarily speechless. 

“So. What do we do now?” Virgil asked, looking around the table as everyone dished themselves food, halfheartedly glaring at Roman as he put more pancakes on Virgil’s plate, to make sure he actually ate something. 

“Stay alert. Station more guard around the castle and town than usual. Wait to see what, if anything, happens next. She is unlikely to attack directly once more, and chance harming Damien, however we should be prepared for more subtle methods of intrusion. Otherwise… things go on as usual.” Logan answered, looking untroubled as he cut his pancake, smiling as Patton drowned his in syrup, the pixie addicted to all things sweet. He himself stuck to a few blueberries and butter. 

“I’ve got ya covered on that angle, babes. No one can spot a spy faster than I.” Remy answered, kicking back his chair. Immediately wincing and settling it back down on all four legs at the pull in his chest. 

“While I hate to admit it, Remy is the most qualified on that account. He is highly skilled both in casting glamour and detecting it.” 

“Alright. Well, sounds like we have a half decent plan then. We can head back to the castle after breakfast then, and update the guard. If you two can get the all clear from Patton and feel well enough to travel, that is.” Roman added, face half full of food. 

“Not a hundred percent, but I’ll live.” Remy answered flippantly. 

“You very nearly didn’t, Remy.” Logan pointed out. “And I trust Patton’s judgement more than I trust yours, at least when it comes to your own health.” 

“He should be fine for that short a trip. But no strenuous activity after that! I want you resting for at least another full day before using any magic, and no lifting or sparring or anything of that sort until I clear you. Damien should be fine, too, if you’re up for it.” 

Damien nodded, leaning against Remus. “I feel… alright. Still a bit tired, but not nearly as sore anymore.” 

“Perfect! I’ll pack up then, and we can set out whenever you’re ready!” 

“Wait, Pat, you’re coming? You know how easily you get overwhelmed.” Remus butted in, frowning. 

“Of course I’m coming! I have at least one injured patient I need to look after. And it seems right now all of us being split up seems more dangerous than if I just came with. If this dragon wants to hurt all of you, a good way to do that would be to hurt me, too. I’ll be alright. I can use the tower room across from your workspace, right Lolo? That’s far enough I won’t be too overloaded, if I need a break from the main floors.” 

“Of course, Patton.” He felt the skeptical eyes on him and fiddled with his jacket. “He makes a fair point! She has a vendetta specifically against me and the boys. Anyone associated with us, especially our… significant others, are in a compromised position.” He defended, Patton skipping out of the room to pack, his wings aflutter at Logan calling him his significant other. 

“Whatever you say, Lolo.” Roman teased, eliciting a groan. 

Still. It was good, to have everyone together like this. Despite the circumstances, it made Logan feel… happy, happier than he had been in a while. Even if Remy usually drove him mad, he had missed his snarky cousin, and Patton… well. Thank the heavens for Patton.


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan does something very Logany. Luckily it works out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! I'm gonna stick to biweekly updates, i think, but I've got a lot more motivation back since last post, and I'm working on new stuff as well!

It had been a quiet week. A surprisingly quiet, peaceful week. 

As far as Remy could tell, there hadn’t been any attempt at infiltration from any untowards entities, dragon or otherwise. 

Remus and Damien spent nearly every moment together, teasing back and forth, Damien simply enjoying being held, being close, feeling safe, as he tried to sort through his own emotions, ranging from anger to grief to resignation. 

Virgil was a bit more hesitant with Roman. He moved a lot slower than Damien, which was perfectly fine with Roman, he was willing to go at whatever speed Virgil liked. He wished Virgil would reach out more, he could tell that Virgil wanted to, wanted more touch and reassurance, wanted to be held, wanted more affection, but he didn’t want to ask for it. Didn’t think he deserved it. 

But he was getting better, too. He was doing daily lessons with Logan, to further rein in his magic, to get more control, to become comfortable with using it. It was already becoming more natural, when he zoned out Roman often caught him absently twisting shadows through his fingers. 

He was doing lessons with Patton, too. Logan had passed over the meditation sessions to Patton to run, as the pixie had more experience with clearing one’s mind and working on mindfulness and control of emotions, while Logan had more expertise in the physical aspects of magic. Often Damien joined in the meditation, and it seemed to be doing both of them a lot of good.

Logan was spending copious amounts of time in his workroom, working out new spells, working on potions, Patton once again adding his own experience, creating new and interesting mixtures. He was sleeping better as well, which he would only admit to himself was because his nights were now spent cuddling Patton, or being cuddled by Patton, the pixie often melting against him, warming him up from his soul to his heart. 

But he couldn’t stop thinking about Linaria. About what Damien had said, remembered. About his own guilt. 

He hadn’t known. He truly hadn’t. And there were a thousand things he would have done differently if he had. But regrets didn’t solve anything. Didn’t change anything. But he knew what he could do. What he could change. 

Which is why after a week, with Patton fast asleep in his bed, he finagled himself out of the warmth of the pixie’s arms, slipping a pillow into them instead, smiling as Patton instantly hugged it to his face, his antennae twitching slightly in his sleep. He leaned over and kissed his forehead softly, whispering goodbye, before slipping into the shadows and out the door. 

It was late, nearing two am, and any other residents of the castle were fast asleep by now, only the night guards still awake and alert, but they wouldn’t stop or question him. 

Honestly, the hardest part was skating around Remy. He was better at shadow melding than anyone else, and he could be lurking nearly anywhere. On this occasion, he’d used a potion to dampen his own aura, thus making him undectable, even to Remy’s impeccable senses. 

Then he was out one of the side doors to the castle, and slipping into the woods.   
…  
It was four am when he reached the arranged spot. She had chosen it, of course. He wouldn’t have done any differently had she chosen to reach out to him. 

So he stood in the midst of the clearing, trying to calmly breath in and out. He closed his eyes, letting the early morning air wash over him, crisp and slightly chilled, the soft scent of clover and the spice of the earth filling his nostrils. 

He heard the slight woosh of air, and opened his eyes, the dark violet scales blocking out the moon and the stars, casting a black shadow over the clearing, before she dropped down to the earth, transforming a moment before landing gently on her feet. 

“Logan.” Her voice was steel, ice, cold and furious and burning. He expected nothing less. “If this is a trap, you are greatly out matched.” 

“It is not. I am alone. I have told no I was leaving, nor does anyone know where I am.” Her eyes narrowed, but after a moment, she nodded. 

“Then why are we here?” He nodded, taking a deep breath, possibly his last, depending on how this went. 

“You have no reason to believe me, and I do not expect you to, but I would like to say this anyway. I truly did not know your circumstances. I did not know you were a dragon. I did not know that Thomas was attacking your people that night. I did not know…” his voice broke, and he cleared his throat. “I did not know you had a child. If I had known, if I had known any of that, I would never have acted against you. I would have sided with you, against Thomas. I would have advocated for your needs, your rights, I would have helped, however I could.” He took a step closer, within her reach, before kneeling on the ground, bowing his head. 

“However, I cannot mend the past. But I can change the future. I, Logan Hawthorne, borne of The Night Woods, now Advisor and Guardian of the Princes of Everthorn, swear my life and power to your service, with the exclusion of harming any member of the Everthorn Kingdom. It was my mistakes that led to your pain and loss. I ask that you leave the boys out of this, and allow me to take their penance. Anything you need, or desire, that I am within the power to grant, you shall be given. Any land you require that I am able to cede to you, I will. Any service you require within my power, I shall complete. Any punishment or strife you choose to bestow upon me, I will endure without argument or resistance.  
And I swear to you, on my life, that only recently has your son entered this realm and when he did, I had and continued to have no knowledge of his relation to you until he recovered the memories. And I swear to you on my life, I have done nothing to harm him, have done everything in my power to protect and care for him, that I have treated him as one of my own. And I swear to you,” He looked up now, into those burning violet eyes, feeling his own blurring with tears, at the wash of regret, at the utter sorrow at what had happened, at the needless loss of life, at his own part in it, “I swear, I will do everything and anything within my power to protect you and your people, even if it means I give my last breath for you, I will do it willingly.   
I promise.” 

He shivered as he felt the magic run through him. So much binding at once made him dizzy, his chest tight as he felt the metaphorical locks click into place, the strings tying him now to Linaria, to her will, to her command. It was overwhelming and unsettling and he hated the loss of control, the loss of his own autonomy, but it was deserved. It was warranted. It was right. 

“and for what it’s worth, I am so truly, deeply, sorry.” He whispered, squeezing his eyes shut as the power let go, letting him breath again, though he still felt wobbly and uncentered. 

“Logan.” Her statement of his name tugged at his soul, and he instantly was forced to look up at her eyes. “Rise.” Without his permission, his legs did just that, though he was still shaky on them. “I could destroy you. You realize you have given me that power, correct? I could demand the world from you, and you would have to give it to me.” 

“I would give it to you regardless of my oath. I would give you everything and anything to even begin to mend the wrongs against you. However, you would not have believed me without me putting serious collateral behind my words. So I did.” He said simply, honestly. 

“You put much faith in me.” 

“I put no faith in anything. I do not know if or how you will choose to use me. I do not know whether you will decide to harm me, if so, how much. I do not know if you will choose physical punishment or drive me to madness. I do not expect mercy, or kindness, or lenience. I have sworn my oath with no expectations but the very worst. I would not have done so if I were not ready to accept the consequences.” He stood tall and upright, hands clasped behind him, meeting her gaze evenly, though he felt the slight flutterings of apprehension. After a long moment, her shoulders dropped and she let out a long breath, stepping back and pushing back her hair. 

“I release you from your vows, Logan Hawthorne.” He fell to his knees instantly as the power once again rushed through him, severing the bonds that had just been formed, snapping each one in the same moment, filling him with fizzling, popping magic. 

“…why?” He asked shakily, exhaustion cresting over him like a tidal wave, trying to hold on to reason as the world spun, settling back into focus. 

“Because you were willing to make that oath. No truly guilty, unremorseful man would make such a promise, would give themselves over completely to the one they wronged. You swore on your soul, Logan, had anything you attempted to say been untrue, it would not have been able to pass your lips. Janus… showed me, what they’d done to him, the mortals. He would have perished without aid, and your kin gave it freely and treated him well, despite their direct claim to his name. That… is worth something, to me. It seems you have raised them better than their sire would have. For that, I am grateful.” She knelt down, gently tipping Logan’s face up to hers, meeting his eyes. “I was angry. All I wanted was revenge, all I wanted was for you to hurt as I had, to lose what I had. But I have a chance now. I have a chance, and I cannot lose him a second time. I won’t.” She near murmured. 

“I still meant all that I said, Linaria. I will help however I can.” She drew back slightly, crossing her legs as she sat, looking up at the sky for a moment, tucking her dark hair back. 

“How… is he?” She asked tentatively, and Logan huffed, moving to sit himself, though he kept a few inches between them. 

“Alright, given the circumstances. Physically, he is perfectly fine. Emotionally… he is struggling. He has been through quite a lot, in quite a short amount of time, and he is struggling to process it all. I believe the end to the hostilities will alleviate quite a large amount of his stress. He is torn, between you and them. He wants it as much as you do, but not at the expense of Remus, at any of us. Atop that is also the trauma he suffered at the hands of the mortals, as well as what he saw when he unlocked your memories. He doesn’t speak of it, but I believe he has nightmares. Remus’s presence is grounding, and reassuring, which helps.” She nodded, still staring up at the sky. “he recovered well, from shifting?” 

“He was sore and exhausted, but otherwise suffered no ill effects, aside from the memories. From what I understand, he shifted back a few minutes after you left, with reassurance from Remus.” 

“Remus.” She echoed, “He called Remus his partner.” 

“That would be an accurate description, yes. Partners, boyfriends, a couple, however you wish to phrase it. You are welcome to properly meet them, you know.” 

“I would like that.” They sat in silence for several long moments, before Logan smiled, unable to stop glancing at Linaria, until she noticed, and rolled her eyes, turning to him. 

“What?” She asked, though a small smile played across her own lips. 

“I missed this. I… enjoyed spending time with you, discussing theories and magic and comparing notes. You were a friend, to me. One of the very few I’ve ever had. I… never understood, then, why you would betray the kingdom. If I had only looked harder…” 

“The damage was already done. Children are rare for my people. They are the most precious and cherished among dragons, and no matter what you had said or sworn then I would not have listened. I was completely mad, from the grief and loss, not only of him, but the rest of my clan whom had come with me. It was… is… impossible, to describe the weight of it. And I… missed speaking with you, as well. You are… interesting, in a way most fae are not.” Logan chuckled slightly, looking up at the starting to lighten sky, pinks and purples breaking through the deep dark blue.

“I should start heading back. I have no doubt they’ve already noticed my absence, and no doubt are starting to panic. I love them, but my family has a tendency to be quite impulsive and drawn to trouble.” 

“You’ll make it back alright? I am not a fool, Logan, I know how much power was expended tonight.” She answered at his quizzical stare. 

“Ah. Yes, I believe I have recovered sufficiently, enough certainly to make it home. Perhaps not enough to deal with the repurcutions of this outing, but enough to make it there.” She laughed, a soft, warm sound, that made him smile as she offered a hand to help him to his feet. “I will send you a message, when I have explained the situation to them. Within a day, perhaps two. I need to make sure the guard is warned of your approach, so they don’t attack you, and no doubt argue with everyone about your presence and… well, generally get things in order before you arrive.” She nodded, stepping back, hesitating. 

“Logan… thank you, for this chance.” He shook his head, warmth in his eyes. 

“I am simply doing what’s right. You owe me nothing, not even thanks.” 

With a flash, Linaria jumped into the air, transforming and winging upwards, Logan watching speechless as the violet dragon circled higher, scales glinting in the light. It was incredible, truly, it was magic, pure, undiluted magic, and it took his breath away. 

“That is the difference between you and him. You meet the unknown with awe and curiosity and respect. He greeted it with nothing but fear and scorn. You… are good, Logan. Truly just… good.” Her words echoed in his mind, then she was gone, disappearing above the clouds and out of sight. 

He shook himself back to the present after a few long moments, turning to the woods, not looking forwards to the long trek home and the many arguments that no doubt awaited him there.


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan deals with the fall out.

“We’ve searched everywhere. Twice. He’s nowhere in the castle, nowhere in the town.” Roman let out a long breath, dismissing the guard with a soft thanks for their work, and an order to keep an extra high alert, face crumpling as the guard left, worry eating him up. 

“We already knew he wasn’t here, Ro. This just confirms it.” Remus said. Patton had woken up to Logan gone from their bed, unable to sense his presence anywhere. For anyone else it might not be unusual, but Patton’s range and perception of Logan was much wider than on anyone else, as far as his own home in the woods, from the castle. The search had been more out of desperation than any actual expectation of finding him. 

“Well, the good news/bad news of it is there’s no one else who could sneak by me besides Logan, and if he spent the night with Patton, there’s no one who could snatch him without you waking up and catching them red handed. So the bad news is he left by himself, and chose to.” Remy added, lounging in an armchair, though his eyes were dark, body tense. 

“Why is that bad? Isn’t… isn’t that better than him being kidnapped or something?” Virgil asked, sitting atop a bookshelf, trying to practice his breathing exercise to keep calm, aided by the soft content of his familiar, whom sat curled in his palm, Virgil gently petting and fiddling with his legs, much to the spider’s delight.

“Because Logan is a selfless idiot! And if he thinks he can protect us by sacrificing himself…” Remus trailed off, shaking his head. 

“He wouldn’t hesitate.” Patton finished softly, from where he was slumped miserably at the table, wings drooping limply against his back, eyes tired and bleak, so un Patton like it scared all of them. 

“If she’s hurt him, done anything to him-“ Janus broke off at Remus coming to his side, taking both his hands and rubbing them soothingly, only then making him realize his eyes were starting to glow, his voice had lowered to a rough growl. He took another deep breath, shoving the power away. Now was not the time to turn into a dragon. 

“I’m sure he’s fine. He’s smart, he knows how to get out of trouble, I’m sure he’s… it’s fine!” Roman said, rather unconvincingly, starting to pace, unaware of Virgil tracking his back and forth motion. 

“Patton, you woke up at-“ 

“six”

“And he was already gone. And it’s-“ 

“Just past eight now.” Janus added, glancing at the timepiece on the wall. 

“Right. Meaning he’s been gone at least-“ 

“two hours. Probably longer.” Remy did the math, they’d had this conversation about a million times since the search began, and each time the added minutes settled in his stomach like shards of ice. 

“which means he’s gone. He could be anywhere. We have no way to track him, find him, especially if he left himself and doesn’t want to be found!” Virgil exploded, curling tighter as he struggled for even breaths, feeling his control start to slip on his shadows. 

“We will find him.” Janus answered, determinedly, though his voice shook. “We will find him, and if he’s hurt we will tear his assailants apart.” 

The continued conversation drifted in and out around Patton. He couldn’t seem to pay attention, he was too worried, too achingly worried, to care about the rehash of information they’d already been over, the clues they didn’t have, the hints Logan didn’t leave. 

Because he was certain that’s what happened. He was sure Logan had snuck out by himself and gone to try and fix things with the dragons, because that’s how Logan was. He’d been upset and out of sorts ever since he’d learned what had really happened that night, and Patton should have seen this coming, he should have known Logan wouldn’t just go on as normal, especially when it was clear that all of them were at risk. 

He hadn’t noticed. He hadn’t noticed Logan slipping out of bed, slipping out the door, slipping away. He should have. He should have felt it, and stopped him, should have done something, because now who knew what was going on? Who knew what Logan had done, what he had given away, traded away, to keep them safe? 

“Pat?” He blinked at the quiet voice, Janus near him, and he realized his vision was blurry as he wiped away tears. “What can I do?” he shook his head. 

“Nothing. I… I’m just going to get some air.” He answered, managing a weak smile as he left the room, managing to hold it together until he reached the balcony, falling apart with muffled sobs, crumpling against the sun warmed stone.

He knew everyone else’s worry and fear was compounding atop his, making his heart race and his mind fog over with the strength of the emotion, but the distance did little to quell any of it, though there was relief in letting it out. 

He almost didn’t notice, at first. It was dim, weaker than his sense of him normally was, and that’s why it took Patton so long to feel him in the first place, but after a moment his head snapped up, eyes going wide, focusing on the feeling, antennae stretching upwards with the effort. 

He was tired. Exhausted. But lighter, lighter than he’d felt in a long time, unafraid, though worried, about what had transpired in his absence, knowing they must be fretting themselves to death, apprehension about facing it, though relief flowed at the overall outcome, and- 

Patton shot over the railing, wings buzzing so fast they were little more than blurs as he dove, tackling, not caring as they both went tumbling to the ground, not caring about the soft sound of surprise and pain at the impact, not caring about his own body protesting the force of the impact, because those arms are around him, the scent of sunlight and cedar, and Logan is murmuring in his ear, holding him tight, apologizing and reassuring and stumbling over his words, but Patton doesn’t care, because he’s safe. 

“what were you thinking? Why… why would you go? Logan, why…” 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, dearest.” 

“N-no you’re n-n-n-ot” Patton stuttered, and Logan sighed. 

“I am not sorry for my actions. I am sorry for the impact they have had upon you. I am sorry I hurt you, and I’m sorry I left as I did, but I was afraid if I told you, I wouldn’t have the courage to go.” 

“what happened? Logan, please tell me you’re staying, please tell me you don’t have to go, please-“ 

“Shh. I am staying. I do not have to nor do I intend to leave you, ever again. Linaria and I have reached a peace. There will be no more violence from either side, friendly relations, even. A chance to move forward. To do better, on both sides, with no obligation other than that from either.” 

“what did you offer? What did you give away?” 

“In the end, nothing.” Patton huffed at that, knowing ‘in the end’ meant he had tried to give something away, knowing Logan, far too much. He didn’t have time to dwell on it, though, as suddenly warmth was rushing through him, Logan’s lips on his, pressing and soft and warm, sunlight exploding in his chest at the sudden sense of love and relief and greatfulness rolling off of Logan. “I love you. I love you, so much, Patton.” He murmured between kisses, making him giggle despite himself, the knots in his heart unravelling with each one, until he was smiling and convinced that whatever had happened, Logan wasn’t lying about being ok. 

“May we get up now? I am sure the others are anxious to see me.” Logan murmured, and Patton gasped, shooting to his feet and helping Logan to his. 

“You better prepare yourself, mister. They aren’t going to go nearly as easy on you as I did.” Patton said. 

“You tackled me to the ground and then scolded me thouroghly.” Logan said with a hit of amusement. 

“Have you met your children? And Remy? If they don’t kill you I’d say you’ve gotten off light.” Patton answered, only half kidding, and Logan huffed, kissing him again, long and deep. 

“you’re stalling.” Patton accused, not resisting another kiss. 

“Perhaps. But I also harbor deep affection for you and even though I was the one to leave, it was not an easy choice. I… I had thought there was a very high chance I would never see you again, Patton.” Patton inhaled sharply at the wash of latent fear and sorrow that came over Logan, and he wrapped him tightly in a hug, Logan exhaling deeply after a moment, squeezing him just as tight, burying his face in the crook of Patton’s neck. 

“Oh, honey. You’re exhausted, aren’t you?”

“I’m fine, Pat. I’ll… be fine.” 

“I know that, Logan. But that’s not what I asked.” Patton replied reproachfully. 

“I am tired. But that can wait until I explain myself, to the boys. And more fully to you.” Patton narrowed his eyes as Logan stepped back from the hug, though he kept their fingers intertwined. 

“Alright. But I will drag you out of there if you’re pushing yourself too hard, mister.” Logan smiled again, the so soft smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes, that lit up his face in a way that left Patton filled with warmth. 

“I would expect nothing less from you, dearest.” Patton nearly squealed at Logan calling him ‘dearest’, managing to contain it to only a wide grin, as he swung their arms back and forth, leading Logan back into the castle, and maybe to his untimely death, depending on how furious the boys were.  
…  
He was almost knocked off his feet as soon as he walked into the room. Remus had practically hug tackled him, squeezing him so hard he couldn’t breath for a moment, and he was pretty sure his feet were actually lifted off the ground at the force of it. Then Roman was there, getting Remus to set him down, eyes roving over every inch of him, face pale and eyes wide, before throwing himself at Logan as well. He noticed Anxiety sitting on top of the bookshelf, sagging back against the wall, closing his eyes to try and steady himself. Janus was sitting at the table, ramrod straight, critical gaze locked on him, looking away when they made eye contact. Then the boys pulled back, and Remy was there, staring him down. 

“Remy-“ And then he was reeling backwards, cheek smarting, vision spinning from the force of it for a moment, before he felt Patton’s arms steadying him. 

“that… was probably deserved.” He gasped out, after a moment.

“You stupid BITCH! What the FUCK Logan?! What the actual hell were you thinking, what got into you head you idiot, you stupid, stupid, idiot! She could have killed you, you should be dead right now, she nearly killed me for spying, she nearly killed them if not for Damien, she nearly killed Virgil if not for Damien, so what the hell did you think was going to happen to you!?” Remy shouted, fists clenched, waiting for his response. He took a deep breath, steadying himself and stepping away from Patton, feeling the silence in the room like a weight, because everyone wanted to know the same thing. 

“I was thinking that I would keep all of you safe regardless of my own well being, as I was the one who wronged her, no matter how unintentionally and unaware I was of it. I gave her everything I am. I gave her my name, my mind, my body, my magic, my soul. The only stipulation I added was that I would not harm anyone of the kingdom. She could use me however she wanted. I was her tool.” He felt Patton freeze behind him, saw the shock morphing into anger and fear on Remy’s face, felt it vibrating between the boys and the shadows just barely darkening in the corners of the room. 

“Logan… no… why…” Damien whispered, horror on his face.

“That’s impossible. It’s impossible. You’re not bound, now, that’s impossible.” Remy added, voice flat. 

“She let me go. I gave her all of that, and instead of taking it and breaking me, she accepted my apologies and explanations and desire for peace. She released me from the contract nearly as soon as I made it.” He answered, watching Damien’s face out of the corner of his eye. 

“He’s… not lying. About, about anything. He really… and she really… she really didn’t hurt you? She’s not…” Damien’s voice was shaking, trembling with some intense mixture of emotions he couldn’t quite read. 

“She did not. And she would like to make things right between our peoples as much as I do. She’s tired of being angry, especially since she now knows you are safe, and well cared for. She wants… she doesn’t want to lose this chance, with you.” He said softly, turning fully to Damien, knowing he could taste the truth of his words, but would likely also need to see it on his face, to truly believe it. He stared hard at him for several long moments, before his façade of calm seemed to shatter, and he buried his head in his hands, shoulders slumping as he let out a shaking, trembling breath, his entire form shaking somewhat. 

“Oh, sunshine.” Remus was at his side in an instant, arms wrapped around his shoulders, trying to coax him out of hiding. 

“You are an absolute bastard. Do you hear me, Logan? A bastard.” Then Remy stormed out of the room, shoving past him roughly, vanishing to who knows where. 

“You are never leaving this castle again. I am putting a bell on you, so you can never sneak out of here ever again.” Roman grumbled, though relief was written across his face, as he collapsed into another chair at the table. His gaze was drawn to Virgil, who made a soft thump as he jumped off the bookcase to the floor, avoiding all eye contact, making a wide berth around Logan as he slipped out the door, tension thrumming through his whole body, shadows sparking in his hands.

“Virgil?” 

“Don’t.” Virgil bit back, without looking up, if anything, shrinking further into himself, withdrawing deeper as he steadily walked away, though his movements seemed just a bit stilted. He furrowed his brow, as Virgil vanished around a corner, unsure whether to follow him or not. 

“Come on, Lo. Give everyone time to regroup their thoughts. You are taking a nap.” Patton said softly, but firmly, taking his hand and pulling him out of the room. 

They walked in silence for several long moments, Logan contemplating the way Patton’s wings were half raised, his antennae nearly straight up, his shoulders tense and his breathing too carefully even. 

“You are angry with me.” He stated, and Patton tensed further. “But you’re trying not to be.” He hedged, earning a small huff. “Why?” 

“Because you gave yourself up!” Patton finally shouted, breaking, spinning on Logan with an angry glare and trembling lip. “Because you gave yourself up and you didn’t even bother to say goodbye or consult anyone or tell anyone! Because I could never have seen you ever again and I wouldn’t have ever known for sure what had happened and you, being here, right now, free? That’s not because you’re smart, Logan, it’s because you’re LUCKY! Did you stop and think, what it would do to us, if you never came back? If you showed up on Linaria’s arm like some pet or plaything? If you showed up after years and years broken and twisted and shattered? Did you consider what it would do to any of us? To me?” Patton shouted, tears now streaming down his face, gasping as Logan swept him into a warm embrace, unable to stop himself from clinging back. 

“I did. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but I swear I did. I know how much it would hurt, Pat, I do, and I’m sorry, but I couldn’t stand the thought of you getting hurt by her, because me of me. Of you being killed, of dragon fire eating you up, of… of losing you, or the boys or Virgil or Damien, I couldn’t stand it, not when I could stop it, and you’re right, Pat, I was lucky. I was lucky. Because I did not expect this outcome, dearest, truly, I didn’t expect to come back to you, certainly not in one piece, and I’m sorry for that as well. It was selfish of me, I know, to shove the pain I couldn’t bear onto you instead, and I’m sorry, love.” He replied, his own voice shaking once more, feeling Patton’s tears dampening his shirt. “but it’s all ok, now. It’s all ok, and everyone’s safe and no one is losing anyone. I promise.”

He gently cupped Patton’s cheeks, wiping away his tears with his thumb, unable to help the soft smile that crept onto his face, taking in Patton, his Patton, feeling that swelling surge of warmth once more, pressing a kiss to his forehead, before pressing his own against Patton’s, breathing in the aura of him, the warmth of him, relishing his presence. 

“oh, lo.” Patton murmured, no doubt feeling all the love directed at him, all the joy his mere presence elicited. “you make it so hard to stay mad.” He huffed lightly, not pulling away an inch, not wanting to move at all, really. 

“I love you.” He mumbled instead. “I love you so much it… it overwhelms me sometimes.” 

“I know. I can feel it, Lo, I always can. I love you too, honey. Now let’s get you to bed, sweetie. I think everyone could use some time, and you could use some sleep.” He reluctantly allowed Patton to pull him back into motion, with the promise of cuddles and a warm nap.


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remy has some one on one Virgil time.

Virgil was, predictably, on the roof. 

Not on the palisade, either, he’d come up that way, along the path, then scrambled up onto the stone of the actual castle roofs, tucking himself against a chimney, legs drawn to his chest, staring absently out at the sky and the forest and the distant imprints of mountains, trying to let himself feel without letting the emotions swamp him completely. 

At least his shadows had grown to be more of a comfort than a threat, at this point. He wasn’t afraid, of the darkness sparking between his fingers, absently twining it through them, playing with it and twisting it into random shapes or figures. Becoming unafraid of them made them much less likely to spiral out of control, which made it easier not to fear them, which calmed him further. For once, he’d ended up in a positive feedback loop, thanks to the lessons Logan was giving him. 

He let out the breath he was holding, counting it out, at the thought of his name. 

It wasn’t his fault. It had nothing to do with him. Logan was fine, everyone was fine, and they didn’t have to worry about impending dragon attacks anymore, so that was cool and did a lot to take the edge off his anxiety. 

That didn’t get rid of the pit in his stomach that had been there since they’d discovered Logan, gone. 

He couldn’t stop thinking, about that first night at the castle, when he’d had a nightmare and Logan had chased the shadows away. The first lesson where he actually felt good, using his magic, Logan's steady voice and soft smile guiding him through. 

No adult had ever been that patient, that kind, that nice, to him. Not the villagers. Not even his own parents. 

He shivered, at the memory of fear, rope biting into his wrists, the panic that consumed him. He had never loved them, really. He’d been respectful because he was afraid. And they’d always thought him a danger, even after he started hiding his magic, he was scorned and whispered about and cast aside. 

But Logan had stayed. He’d stayed that first night, he taught him, he steadied him, he was everything his parents had never even considered being, and he wondered if this is what having a parent, a dad, was supposed to feel like.

Maybe that’s why it hurt so much, ached so much, that Logan had left. He should have known better, than to hope. He should have known that he would. No one ever stayed, not for him. Wherever he went, bad things happened and people got hurt and it was always his fault, because if he could just do better none of this would have happened. This whole mess, was his fault.

If he’d just come back from the tree house sooner, if he hadn’t lost his temper, if he hadn’t fought with and said those awful things to Damien, none of this would have happened. No one would ever have gotten hurt. Damien would never have gotten hurt. 

It all cycled back to him. His fault. 

“I know that look. It’s the ‘angsty brood while wallowing in self doubt look.” He almost jumped, glancing up at Remy, who had silently sidled up beside him. He blew his bangs out of his face, staring back at the horizon, his spider gently kneading at his hair, little legs massaging his scalp as he cooed softly. 

“I know that a lot of good stuff has happened. I know that things here, even before things got settled with the dragons, were better than they had ever been back there." He said softly, feeling Remy sit beside him.

“but?”

“was it worth it? Was all the pain and hurt and fear really worth it? What they did to Dee… what I did to them… what the dragons tried to do to Remus and Roman, what Logan tried to give away, was it worth it? Was…” he didn’t finish the last sentence. He didn’t need to. Why ask a question when you already knew the answer? 

“Were you.” Remy finished.

“No.” he replied instantly, wincing at the sharp gaze Remy instantly turned on him. “no. I’m not. I’m just a stupid human who can’t even control his own magic because he’s still afraid that somehow his parents will appear and he'll have to go through the ritual all over again.”

“Ritual?” Virgil smiled bitterly, letting his shadows swirl out from his fingers, closing his eyes and letting his memories play out, letting them show what was still on his mind anyway, until the memories became spotty, when he was blacking in and out, and the shadows slowly dissolved away.

“I should have known better than to count on anyone.” He whispered, swiping at his eyes. “even Logan. It’s not like he has any reason to care. Its not his fault I’m affection starved and latched onto the first person not horrified by my magic, the first person with magic like mine, its not his fault he chose to go. It’s mine for hoping, for hoping once in my life someone could actually care about me and choose to stay! No one… no one ever stays.” He muttered, staring out at the horizon. 

“Bastards. Stupid, idiot, ignorant, bastards, humans are such idiots, no offense, but any simpleton can tell the difference between dark magic and shadow magic.” He was surprised at the level of anger in Remy’s tone, the vitriol. 

“they were scared.” He shrugged, and Remy rounded on him. 

“They were scared? Fuck them, you were scared! You were scared for your life. They were scared because they’re small minded idiots!” He just shrugged again, scooping his spider into his hands, cuddling him to his chest, letting the calm and pleased feeling from his familiar soothe some of the ache in his chest. 

“He didn’t want to go, you know. He did it to protect everyone. That includes you. Especially you. I know my cousin, kid, and the way he acts with you… he may not have said it, but your as good as his, now. One of his boys, his family. He’s not gonna leave you, not if he can help it, he will fight his way to the ends of the earth before he even dreams of ever giving up on you. And hey, I’ve always got your back. Us existentialists have to stick together. Can’t let those damn optomists outnumber us.” He snorted slightly as Remy bumped shoulders with him, giving in after a moment, and letting himself lean against him. 

“I’m still mad at him.” 

“So am I, kid. We’ll just be angry together. Pretend to hold me back next time we see him, so I’ll be less at fault when I punch him, m’kay?” 

“deal.” He replied, smiling slightly, content to just stare out at the sky as Remy started rambling, letting his presence and voice drown out his own thoughts.


	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Couples bein good  
> Fluffy comfort

Things were… tense.

Damien barely knew what to do with himself. He didn’t even know what he was feeling. 

He was angry, Logan had taken such a risk with himself, though not entirely surprised. It seemed the kind of carelessly pragmatic stunt that would be entirely in character with what he’d seen of Logan’s personality. But he was… relieved. Relieved, because it was over, this war inside himself could be over. None of his family was going to be hurt again, by the dragons. 

Which gave him all the time in the world to worry about what exactly he was supposed to say to his mother, when she arrived. 

Because even if she wouldn’t do so again, she had hurt them, almost killed them, and no matter how good her intentions were now, he was still apprehensive and afraid and confused because he didn’t know what to do. 

And everyone had scattered. 

Patton and Logan were resting. Virgil had vanished, probably hiding somewhere and freaking out, Remy following not long after. Roman was looking for the two of them now. And Remus was sitting beside him, a hand on his shoulder, trying to steady him against the rushing tide of emotions trying to drag him down. 

“what do I say to her? What… I don’t even know her, Remus. But I feel like I do, I saw through her eyes, I know what she felt, I know how losing me devastated her, but it didn’t… hurt me, in the same way. I didn’t remember, I didn’t know what I was missing, I don’t know what I want her to be, to me, I don’t know if I can trust her, if I can afford to trust her and give her that power over me, I don’t…” 

“Shhh, slow down, sunshine. Slow down, and take a breath.” Remus murmured, pulling a chair up directly next to his, gently prying Damien’s hands away from his face, letting out a low breath at Damien’s tear streaked cheeks, reaching up and gently brushing them away. He smiled softly as Damien leaned into the touch with a small shudder, letting out a huge sigh. Remus pulled him gently closer, and Damien slid onto his lap easily, pressing his face into the crook of Remus’s neck. 

“I know it wasn’t her fault. I know it. But I spent so long pretending to be ok. Pretending I didn’t care, where my parents were, why they’d left me, thinking it was because of this,” he gestured to his face, his scales, “I always loved them, if not because they’re part of me, then simply because everyone else hated them. I always thought… I thought it was my fault, for so long. I thought I wasn’t good enough, wasn’t right, wasn’t…   
And now I know. I know she didn’t just give me up, didn’t abandon me, so why am I still so… so angry? Why do I still feel like if she’d only tried harder she could have found me, why am I still scared that that’s all true?!” He gasped, clinging harder to Remus, as his arms wrapped around him, holding him firmly. 

“Because emotions are complicated and the situation is complicated, and you’re overwhelmed, and it’s alright to be scared, Damien. It’s your long lost mother, which is a big deal all on its own, not to mention the whole dragon part of it, and blood feud, yadda yadda, you get the point.” Damien snorted, pulling back slightly, close enough their noses bumped gently. 

“That’s a yadda yadda, for you? Seems like a pretty big deal, to me.” Remus ran a hand over Damien’s arm, settling it on his waist. 

“Logan was telling the truth, about both sides wanting peace, wanting to mend fences, wanting to start over.” Slowly, he nodded. 

“yes.” He mumbled softly. 

“So then none of that yadda yadda matters. I know none of us are necessarily happy about how we got here, but we got here. What matters now is what always has. What do you want, Damien Lyre?” Remus’s eyes were earnest and soft, and the sound of his name sent a shiver down his spine, into his soul. 

What did he want? 

He thought about the memories. The roar of wind in his ears when Linaria had dived, the snap of wings opening, the sound of echoing wingbeats, of gem colored scales shimmering in the sun, curled against that giant, warm, belly, a wing securely draped over him, he wanted… 

“I want to fly. I want to understand, what I am, to… to not be afraid, of myself anymore. I want to know who they are, who I am, who I… who I should have grown up as.” He took a ragged breath, pressing his forehead against Remus’s chest. “I just want my mom.” His voice broke, and Remus cradled his head, pressing a soft kiss to the top of it, lingering there. 

“Then you’ve got nothing to worry about, sunshine. Because after all she’s done for you, I’m absolutely sure that the only thing she wants now is her son.” 

“what if they hate me? What if I meet my family and they’re all horrible and they all hate me?” 

“They won’t hate you, darling. No one could hate you, sunshine, and they’ve looked so long and so hard for you. They would never hate you. Blue didn’t hate you.” He snorted slightly, relaxing as Remus started rubbing his back. 

“Blue didn’t know me.” 

“Exactly. They don’t know you, either, not really. They have no reason to hate you, or dislike you. You’ve been strong, you stood up for yourself, you’ve protected me, and that bravery speaks for itself.” He shook his head. 

“I’m not brave.” 

“Sunshine, look at me. You’re the bravest person I know. You jumped in front of dragon fire for Roman, you shoved the dragon witch out of the way to protect Virgil, then directly fought back when she tried to harm us. You might not see it as brave, darling, but it is. You are.” He didn’t say anything else, just let Remus’s touch continue, trying to catch up to his mind, as it raced.  
…  
Roman was collapsed at his desk. 

He’d scoured the castle for Virgil, but hadn’t been able to find him anywhere, and had begrudgingly given up, though he felt miserable for it. 

He knew he was probably relieved and scared and overwhelmed and he wanted nothing more than to pull him into his arms and comfort him and wash away all of his worries and doubts, but he couldn’t even find him, and he felt so… useless, for it. 

And Logan. 

Logan had taken a huge risk. It had payed off, but it was still a risk, and he still could have lost everything, it frightened him more, that Logan had expected to lose everything. In his mind, it hadn’t been a gamble, it hadn’t been a risk, it had been a choice. A choice to give himself up and let Linaria take whatever she liked of him, giving her the power to rip out pieces of him and put him back together however she wanted, it was a sacrifice. His blood and bone for theirs. 

Sure, everything had worked out, but it almost didn’t. It very easily couldn’t have. And where would they be, without Logan? How would he ever have recovered, from losing Logan, who was practically his father, who had raised him, and loved him, and taught him everything he knew about the world, who had stoked his curiosity and his creativity and given him the confidence he needed to lead. 

He was exhausted. He was still pumping with adrenaline, with fear, he felt like he was just now letting out the giant breath he’d been holding in anticipation since they discovered Logan missing this morning, and known he’d done something incredibly stupidly bravely Logan. 

He didn’t look up at a knock on his door, simply waving a hand to open it, it was keyed to respond to his magic. He had assumed it was Patton, based on the light knock, coming to give him a quick update, or perhaps Remy, because gods know where he’d disappeared to. 

“Ro?” He spun around at the soft voice, breath catching as his eyes met Virgil’s, gods he was beautiful, even though his eyes were dark, his hair hanging in his face, his shoulders slightly raised, his hands shoved in his pockets, everything about him was guarded, right now, but he was stunning. “how are you?” Came the quiet question, and he sighed, softening further. 

“scared.” He whispered, not even realizing he’d said it out loud, until Virgil came closer, hesitantly cupping his cheek. “it worked out. But that Logan would do something like that, would do it again, if he had to… it scares me. Letting the dragons in when they’ve tried to kill you, tried to kill me, scares me. The fallout if this goes wrong…” 

“I know. I… he cares, Roman. He actually, just, cares. No one’s ever… not like he does, not like… like…” 

“Like father. Like a father should. I know, Virgil.” Roman murmured, pulling him gently down, so he was sitting on his lap, holding his waist gently. Virgil sighed, wrapping his arms around his neck, nuzzling into his chest, filling him with warmth, as his dark eyes peered up at him. “I love you.” He murmured, unable to resist pressing a kiss to his head, smiling as Virgil tilted his head back, meeting his lips for a soft moment. 

“I know. I’m pretty neat, aren’t I?” Virgil teased, getting a low chuckle out of him. Even a week ago, Virgil saying something like that, teasing back like that, would have been unusual, would have slipped out accidentally and made Virgil have that deer in the headlights look of fear. Now he just grinned back, pressing closer. “I love you too, Princey.” 

“Where were you hiding? I looked in all the closets, my gloomy goose.” 

“Roof. Also, goose?” 

“What? Geese are terrifying! I’ve lost many a war to the foul fowl.” Virgil snorted, and he smiled as his spider peeked out from Virgil’s hair, eyes blinking up at him before scuttling off Virgil’s head, across his arms, and into his hair, promptly nesting down into it. “I think your familiar has decided it’s time to relax.” Virgil simply hummed in agreement, not shifting from his position. 

“talked to Remy. Don’t think he’s gonna murder Logan on sight anymore.” He replied, as Roman began idly teasing at his hair. 

“wonderful.” He easily lifted Virgil in his arms as he stood, the man simply holding him a little tighter, as he resettled them both on the bed, Virgil laying across his chest. “it’s been quite a morning, hasn’t it? We should get some rest, before we have to deal with incoming dragons.” 

“ok.” Virgil agreed sleepily. The poor thing still wasn’t sleeping on a regular schedule or basis. He wished Virgil would spend more nights with him, knew that tactile comfort would make it easier, make the nightmares he still had less frequent, easier to recover from, but Virgil didn’t want that yet, wasn’t ready, and he wasn’t going to push him. No doubt the stress of the morning did nothing to help him preserve what little energy he’d had for the day. He pressed another kiss to the top of Virgil’s head, who smiled, almost purring with delight. 

And incrementally, Roman felt himself relaxing, too, as he felt Virgil’s chest rising and falling against his, his warmth seeping into him, as he let out a huge breath, melting into Virgil’s embrace.

“cozy.” His familiar mumbled, and Roman could feel him starting to weave a nest of web into his hair, but he found he didn’t mind all that much. He was right, after all. This was incredibly cozy, and all he wanted for the rest of forever.


	33. Chapter 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some soft Logicality and Logan has a talk with Remy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to stick to the schedule, guys, it's just so dang hard

Logan woke slowly, mind fuzzy from sleep, and he blinked, realizing he couldn’t see anything, then realizing it was because his face was pressed against Patton’s chest, his hands resting against him, one of Patton’s gossamer light wings stretched over him, along with an arm around his waist, pulling him tight against the pixie, who was slightly higher up on the bed than him, Patton’s head resting above his. 

He couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face, watching Patton sleep. His antennae twitched slightly every once in a while, reminding him of how puppies would run in their sleep, except Patton was finding phantom feelings. His breathing was soft and even, his mouth open slightly, his face relaxed and content, and Logan could watch him all day, and not get tired of that perfect softness Patton had about him, especially in sleep.

He should get up. He should get up and contact Linaria and let her know things had been sorted, that if she set down in the fields just outside the castle, they would be waiting to… welcome, was probably generous, but still, welcome her.

But he was so warm, Patton was so warm, and his wing was so light and gentle, and he was so peaceful. And… he didn’t want to scare Patton. He knew if he got up without Patton, without telling him he was getting up and going to his room to call her, because if he left without a word he knew Patton well enough to know he would panic, thinking he’d once again ran off on his own, never mind that he could sense him a few rooms over if he focused for even a moment. 

He was broken from his thoughts, as Patton shifted slightly, his nose scrunching up before relaxing again, as he let out a small yawn, eyes slowly blinking open. It was fascinating, to watch Patton wake up. At first his eyes were dim and tired, slightly out of focus, a soft confusion about him. Then his eyes softened, as he became aware of his surroundings, of Logan still pressed against him. He could see the moment he registered his presence, the minute relaxation of his muscles, the gentle smile on his lips, the soft lights in his eyes, as Patton looked down at him, before moving slowly, capturing his lips in a deep, soft kiss, that sent warmth blooming through Logan’s chest. 

After a moment, it ended, but Patton didn’t go far, resting their foreheads together, letting out a soft breath that tickled Logan’s face, and he shivered slightly as Patton started playing with his hair, the action sending more warmth shooting through his body, and he wondered if he’d ever get used to this soul warmth that came from Patton being near. 

“good morning, dearest.” He murmured, feeling another soft puff of air from Patton, his… delight, at Logan referring to him like that. Logan smiled, kissing the tip of his nose. “Good morning, my dearest, my dear heart, my love, my world, my stars.” He continued, feeling Patton flush, burying his face against Logan’s shoulder to hide his blush, though he was undoubtedly pleased. “I love you.” He finished, feeling Patton’s soft kiss of his cheek, as he pulled away, grin splitting his face.

“I love you too, Lo.” Patton’s antennae twitched, and Logan frowned. 

“What is it?” Patton shook his head, still smiling. 

“Nothing. I was just feeling everyone else out. Remus and Dee are sleeping. They were still awake the last time I felt them, before we fell asleep. Anx…” he trailed off, that was the blip of distress he was sensing, though it wasn’t panic, and he could tell Roman was near. “will be fine. Roman’s with him.” He finished, Logan humming in thought. “Remy?” He asked, finally. Patton tilted his head, feeling. Remy was harder to pick up on, specifically, since he didn’t know him as well. His range and accuracy was much smaller than anyone else in their group, even the castle and town, really, because those were familiar feelings, even if he didn’t know their names, he knew the sense of them. 

“The… the workroom, your workroom, I think. He feels high, and that’s the only tower room he’d have reason to go in. Though it could be higher, the roof.” As he said it, Logan shook his head, a slight shadow passing over his face. 

“No. It’ll be the workroom. He’ll be waiting for me.” Logan sighed, reluctantly pulling out of Patton’s arms and sitting up, running his hands over his face, tugging at his hair. “At least I have proper warning, perhaps I’ll be able to duck whatever he decides to throw at my head.” He muttered, already dreading the confrontation. 

“Is that… likely?” 

“Me dodging? Not statistically, no, though he usually is careful to throw something that won’t actually hurt or do too much damage. Anything glass he makes a show of throwing, but doesn’t actually direct it towards me. I think he finds the sound of it shattering cathartic.” 

“I meant the throwing, but I think you answered that, anyways.” Patton laughed, kissing him once more, quick and light. “You shouldn’t keep him waiting.” Logan’s attention shifted back to him, a small frown tinging his face. 

“Will you be alright?” Patton huffed. 

“I do know my way around the castle, Logan. I’ll be fine. I’ll go check on the greenhouses, see how they’re coming along. Maybe the stables, too.” Patton answered thoughtfully, and Logan nodded. 

“I know you are more than capable, Patton. I just worry, about you getting overwhelmed. If you’re sure, I will leave you to it.” Patton nodded, softly shoving him upwards and off the bed. 

“Go handle your cousin. I’ll be fine. The stables and greenhouses are quiet enough I shouldn’t be bothered, and if I am, I know the quiet places I can go to get my bearings.” Logan nodded, straightening his clothes and retying his hair back, letting out a soft sigh. He was still tired, not bone achingly tired like he had been, but tired nonetheless. He paused at the door to shoot a final soft smile at Patton, before leaving out the door, heading up the stairs to the workroom.   
…  
Remy was pacing. His steps were loud, against the stone floor, a steady thump, thump, thump, as he walked across the floor. It was a bit satisfying, making noise. He was usually focused on being stealthy, on sneaking, on blending in with the shadows, it was almost more natural to hide than to be in the open. 

He’d already poked over anything that seemed safe enough to poke, and a couple things that probably weren’t, but they hadn’t exploded, so it’s not like it mattered. There were test tubes of brightly colored substances, a couple beakers hooked up to each other through tubes and Bunsen burners, shelves and shelves of journals and notebooks, filled with every question and answer Logan had ever asked, then discovered the answer to, and all the ways he’d failed to answer them. There were also all kinds of charts, maps, scrolls in foreign writings, books that looked older than time itself, some he’d casually paged through as if he could make any sense of them, others that he hadn’t dared touch, because it looked like they’d crumble apart at the seams. As angry as he was at Logan, he didn’t actually want to hurt him, and he knew damaging any of his projects would do just that. 

So he took a deep breath in through his nose, out through his mouth, and continued the steady thump, thump, thump, of his pacing, not stopping when he heard footsteps coming up the stairs, pausing outside the door. Not when he heard a hand on the knob, hesitating before swinging it open. Not when Logan cautiously poked his head in, no doubt to asses his state of mind, before fully entering and letting the door slip closed silently behind him. 

To his credit, Logan didn’t say anything. He stood there on the threshold, hands clasped behind his back, simply watching him pace, no doubt waiting for the scolding or the tirade or for something to be thrown his way, because gods know Logan couldn’t catch to save his life. 

Finally, he stopped, leaning back against one of the work tables pushed against the back wall, letting out a heavy breath, that seemed to weigh down his shoulders. He winced at the motion, it pulled at his chest, which was still sore, though the stress of the day no doubt didn’t help anything.

“You are… infuriating, sometimes, do you know that?” He asked, staring up at the ceiling. “Not to mention exhausting. I’ve never understood, Logan, how you can be so incredibly smart and so completely clueless all at the same time.” He heard Logan pause, the click of his mouth opening then closing, wordless. Slowly, he met his eyes. 

“why? Why did you do it?” He asked, watching confusion flit across Logan’s face. 

“I did what was best, to keep everyone safe.” Remy sighed again, a slightly bitter smile on his lips. 

“See, that’s where you’re wrong, on a couple of levels.” Logan’s brows furrowed, as he tried to puzzle out what he was saying, landing firmly on confusion. 

“I don’t follow.” He finally stated. 

“If this had gone south, in any way, what were you expecting to happen? If you were just gone, or worse, dead, how would that be any better than everyone being in danger? Because the danger, we can handle. We can plan for, we did plan for. We were all here, together, ready to make a plan, and then you went off on your martyr trip. I guess what I’m saying is this, how long do you think it would have been, before the kingdom fell completely apart without you?” Logan blinked, and the confusion was almost comical at this point. 

“I… Remus and Roman would still be here-“ 

“And they would be absolute wrecks. Neither of them would stop until they’d either found you or avenged you, and probably would get themselves killed in the process. Patton feels so deeply, between his grief and everyone else’s, he’d eventually go mad at worst, comatose at best. You’re the first positive authority figure Anx has ever had in his life, and you simply choosing to leave was tearing him apart, he blames everything on himself, and having your life on his conscience would have been the last shove. Roman wouldn’t be there to help him see past his own mind, because he’d be half mad from grief and half thirsting for vengeance, Patton would be too lost in his own head, I’d desperately be trying to hold any of them together, and Virgil would finally lose full control and destroy himself, and gods know how many others in the process. Dee would likely go the same as Roman, knowing it was his mother that had done this to you, that had torn apart his first real family, and who knows what that meltdown would like? And I’d be here, grieving over you, watching everyone I know you meant to protect dash themselves to pieces on their guilt, because you say you thought it was ‘best’.  
It wasn’t best. And you know it, somewhere in there you know it. It was the easy choice, the selfish choice, because you wouldn’t have to handle the consequences, no, leave that up to everybody else. Instead of being here and having each other’s backs, just go run out on your own and pretend like it’s the brave thing to do, the self sacrificing thing to do, instead of the cowardly thing to do.  
So you were scared of losing us. Guess what, idiot? We were just as scared of losing you, but you didn’t see any of us running off to try and trade ourselves away for your safety. It’s not because we didn’t care, it’s because it’s stupid! It’s stupid, Logan, I don’t understand how you can be this stupid!” He finished, the silence deafening after his shout, realizing his knuckles were white where he clenched the work desk, angry tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. “Don’t pretend it was bravery. Because it wasn’t. And we both know it.” 

He stayed silent, tensely still, as he heard Logan move, the soft tap of his steps crossing the room to him. 

“I…” Logan broken off, letting gout a deep breath. “You’re right. You’re right, Remy. Truly, I didn’t think of it in that manner, I hadn’t considered those consequences, I was too blinded by my own sense of guilt and obligation to see past anything else. It wasn’t… It was only partly, because of the danger, I inadvertently put you all in. It was my actions, that led to her losses. I had to make that right, Remy. I know the consequences could have been dire, but they were for her, too, and that didn’t stop anything.”

“You have to think of yourself, Logan. You can’t afford to be selflessly good, all of the time, this kingdom can’t afford you to leave. I can’t…” Remy broke off, shaking his head. “You can’t afford to prioritize your morals over the wellbeing of everyone else around you.” He finished, instead. 

“I know. I’m… sorry, Remy.” It took a moment for Remy to realize that Logan had pulled him into a hug, a moment longer to relax into it with a long sigh, hugging his cousin back tightly, closing his eyes and burrowing against Logan’s shoulder, letting the tears he’d been holding in fall freely, for just a moment, before he pulled away, scrubbing at his eyes. 

“alright, alright, enough of that. Get back to work, or whatever it is you even do here. I’ll be around, if you need me, keeping an eye on everything.” Remy mumbled, vanishing before Logan could get out another word. Still, that had gone better than he’d anticipated, and also given him much to mull over. 

He’d… underestimated his worth, it seemed. And badly. He’d thought, known, everyone would be upset, angry, hurt, they would mourn, if he vanished. But he hadn’t thought they would fall apart that badly, not in the way Remy described, he’d thought they would mourn and simply move on, move forwards. It baffled him, more than he knew what to do with, that they all depended on and simply cared about him, that much.

Gods, Remy was right, he really was incredibly stupid, wasn’t he?

He sighed, shaking it off. He could process this later, deal with it later, Remy’s words about Anx sending a sharp spike of guilt through his heart. He’d become fairly close with him, continuing to teach him, and it was so… rewarding, watching him grow, watching him smile more, watching him become less afraid of himself. And he realized, now that he most certainly had destroyed some of that forward progress, though Remy had clearly done some damage control. Patton had said Anx was with Roman. He’d find him, later, apologize fully, attempt to explain himself.

For now, he waved his hand, his worktable’s surface shifting to clear crystal, as he called for Linaria, the crystal slowly clearing to show a misty forest glade. After a moment, Linaria came into view, standing in front of her side of the mirror, looking a bit worse for wear herself. 

“Logan. You look awful.” She stated, looking him over critically. He let out a soft breath, shaking his head. 

“I’ve had more than a few difficult conversations. My family did not take kindly to my disappearing act. There’s been… more fallout, than I anticipated. But everything is settling down, now. If you would like to meet tomorrow, that would be acceptable. Your son… is anxious to properly meet you, I think.” She nodded, a spark of something hopeful and a bit afraid, flickering through her eyes. 

“Alright. I will be there midmorning. There is one other thing.” She hesitated, but Logan nodded for her to go on. “May I bring someone with? His uncle, he’s-“ 

“Of course.” He answered, cutting off her explanations, smiling softly at the surprise she blinked at him with. “It’s as we said. A new start, a true peace. I see no reason why you shouldn’t be able to come and go as you please, with whomever you please. The only thing I would ask is that any visiting dragons shift outside the city gates, in the fields, as there is a danger to both people and structures if they were to attempt it in the city or castle. Likewise, you should avoid flying directly over the city. It would likely make the guard nervous, and I would hate for one to lose their nerve at the shadow and do damage. This day is merely to prepare everyone for the change, to make sure the guard is aware of the end to hostilities and to give me and my family a chance to rest. The people may be uneasy, about mingling with dragons, but no one will act against them, you, or suffer severe consequences.” Linaria let out a low breath. 

“Thank you, Logan. I will see you then.” The crystal shifted and blurred, returning to its normal wooden appearance, tapping his fingers along the surface idly as he gathered himself. Alright. A day, to pull everything together, to get some more rest, to try and keep Dee from losing his mind with nervousness and Anx from, well, anxiety. He’d inform the guard first, then work on those side projects, then check on Patton, then collapse back into bed early.


	34. Chapter 34

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan talks with Virgil, and Patton makes Janus take a break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> have some fluff, some angst, some everything!

Flashes.

Quick, gut wrenching flashes. 

Logan, dead on their doorstep, a dried trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, eyes open and empty. Logan, broken and battered, limbs twisted and snapped. Logan, incoherent and rambling, burning up from some unknown poison, his life slipping away as Patton frantically tries any and every antidote and remedy he knows, but nothing works, as Logan stops breathing. Logan, crazed and wild, clawing at himself, his mind a shattered, broken thing, not able to recognize any of them, no trace of his former self left. 

The dragons, descending and setting the city aflame, he was directly in the path of their fire, but he couldn’t move, couldn’t get away, and it scorched him to ash. Roman, clawed to shreds, Remus pinned under a fallen building, Damien, trying to defend them all, always one step too late, crushed under the weight of his guilt, weakening him enough that his mother could use his name to control him, and the light dimmed in his eyes, his own self pushed to the back. 

Shaking, empty, cold, misery, the village all over again, losing Damien all over again, losing everything, all over again, except this time it was worse, it was so much worse, because he had so much more to lose, so many more people to lose, and the harder he held on the faster they fell through his fingers, he couldn’t do this, he couldn’t do this, please…

“Hush. Shh, Virgil.” A soft touch, against his face, splintering his dreams, sending him spiraling downwards into darkness, that he couldn’t pull up out of, though he tried, it was like he was stuck, half asleep, half awake. “Virgil. Open your eyes.” The soft whisper seemed to almost come from inside his head, and with a heaving gasp, he managed, flying upwards, choking on the air, eyes wild as he tried to place where he was, shadows flaring to life around his hands, flinching as hands came to rest on either side of his face, forcing him to look into copper eyes. 

“breath. It’s just me, dearest. Just breath.” Finally, he sucked in some air, mind catching up with him, and he closed his eyes for a long moment, focusing on inhaling and exhaling, on reining in his panic, and when he opened them again, he leaned forwards, letting Roman gather him close, stroking his hair, his back, murmuring gently against his forehead. 

“There we are. Hello, dearest.” Roman murmured, drawing back slightly, brushing back Virgil’s bangs, to meet his eyes, brushing his thumb against his cheek, smiling gently. 

“hi.” Virgil replied softly, still out of sorts, taken in by his eyes, his soft glow, the warmth he emitted, too stupidly awestruck for a moment to do anything else but stare. Then the weight of his nightmares crashed back down on him, and he pressed fervently forwards, burying his head against Roman’s shoulder, letting Roman’s arms wrap tightly around him, surrounding him in the here and now and real instead of his own terrible imagination. 

“Oh, darling. How often, do you wake up this way?” Roman murmured, and he shook his head, letting out a deep sigh, pulling away, and pulling his knees to his chest, not meeting Roman’s eyes. It felt colder, without Roman’s arms around him.

“when don’t I? I thought… I thought being here, being safe, finally, would make them stop, but it’s just made them worse. There’s so many more people, so many more ways for it all to go wrong, that it did… and what really happened mixes with what hasn’t and I can’t tell, anymore, until I jolt awake, I can’t tell the difference.” He felt his familiar nuzzling his shoulder, soothing him somewhat. 

“let me stay.” Roman said, jolting his attention back to Roman, brows drawn in confusion.

“what?” 

“Let me stay. Let me spend the nights with you. Let me be here, so that when you wake up, you know that you’re safe. That everyone’s safe. Let me… let me help, Virgil.” Roman said softly, eyes earnest and vulnerable, as he reached out, gently brushing his cheek, wiping away tears he didn’t know were falling. 

“you’ll get sick of me. You’ll get sick of me faster, then, you’ll get rid of me, and I can’t give you that just to lose it. I can’t…” 

“You don’t have to. You won’t have to. I’ll be here, Virgil. As long as you’ll have me, I won’t let you go. And I’ll keep saying that, keep showing you, until you have no choice but to believe me. I. Love. You. I love you.” Roman said fervently, staring straight into his eyes, unable to find a trace of insincerity. “I love you.” He whispered again, gently taking his hand, pressing a soft kiss to his knuckles, so soft and tender and sweet it stole Virgil’s breath, his heart beating loudly in his chest, and when Roman met his eyes again, he surged forwards, kissing him with reckless abandon. 

“ok.” He mumbled against Roman’s lips, lost in the warmth of him. “ok.” 

After a long moment, they parted, faces flushed, and Roman smiled, at seeing Virgil’s own soft smile, the kind that reached his eyes, lit them up like stars. Roman could stare at him all day, could spend hours counting the specks of soft brown in his dark eyes, teasing his fingers through Virgil’s hair until he’d counted every strand, he would do anything for him. 

He startled at a soft, sharp rap to his door, the pattern unmistakably Logan. He pulled back, shifting out of the bed with a large stretch and small groan, giving Virgil time to sit up and brush back his hair, straighten his clothes, before he opened the door. 

“Hey, Lo. How are you?” He asked, almost rolling his eyes at Logan’s surprised expression. 

“Better, I suppose. Less tired. I have already conferred with the guard, and informed them of the visit we will be receiving from the dragons. I… spoke with both Remy and Linaria. I was hoping to speak with Anx, if that would be alright. Patton had informed me he was with you, before heading to the greenhouses. Logan avoided his gaze, and Roman turned, asking Virgil with his eyes.

“Yeah, alright.” Virgil muttered, shoving to his feet, peering past Roman. “Let’s do whatever this is and get it over with. If you can’t find me later, I’ve probably tucked myself into some tiny hidey hole. Ask Remy, he seems to get my habits.” He murmured, slipping past Roman and out the door, brushing past Logan and starting down the hall, shoulders tense. Logan looked between him and Roman for a moment, before Roman gave him a gentle nudge. 

“Be careful, Lo. He’s hurting, more than he realizes. You… hurt him, too.” 

“I know.” He smiled thinly at Roman, before hurrying off after Virgil, feeling Roman’s eyes tracking him down the hall.  
…  
He caught up to anx as he exited onto a balcony, wincing as he sat on the railing, feet swinging over the long drop downwards to the ground, only hi hands gripping the railing and his balance to keep him from plummeting. His familiar was sitting on the railing beside him, and after a moment, started spinning a web between the metal bars, chirping softly as he worked. 

“I know, buddy. It’s nice out here, today.” There was something slightly wistful about his words, something slightly sad.

“anx-“ 

“What would happen, you think, if I fell off this balcony right now?” He asked, not looking up, staring straight out at the horizon, though Logan could see how hard his hands gripped it, how tense he was. “Would I be able to summon shadows, to catch me in time? Would they be solid enough, or would I just crash through them to the ground? Or would you be faster, would you grab me and pull me back over the rails? Would your shadows be solid enough to catch me? Would Dee see me falling through a window, leap out to save me from myself, just like he always does? Or would this be the one, he can’t get me out of? Would it hurt, do you think? Or would it be a moment of freefall, and then nothingness? A blink of the eye, is all it would take.” 

“Anx-“ There was something frightening in his tone, something empty and hopeless and he didn’t like it, not one bit, it sent alarm bells ringing, and he realized his heart was starting to race. He was scared. 

“What if I didn’t just fall? What if I tipped just the tiniest bit forwards, what if I went spiraling down until my head hit the stone and everything just… ended? What if I just… let go?” 

“Stop.” He’d moved without even realizing it, grabbing Anx by his wrist, who hissed, turning to glare at him, to shove him away, but Logan used the momentum to pull him back from the ledge and onto the balcony, now grasping both his wrists. “Please, Anx. Stop.” Something flickered across his face, before he wrenched himself free, taking a step back. 

“Don’t. Don’t touch me, don’t pretend to care, don’t-“ 

“Anxiety, please-“ 

“STOP It!” His voice echoed with reverb, loud and thunderous, eyes crackling. “You don’t get to leave, like that, you don’t get to act like you care and then go off to maybe never return, you don’t get be there and be present and be my teacher and practically my dad, and then LEAVE!” Logan almost stumbled, at the force of the word, slamming into him like a physical weight, waves of pain and fear and agony rushing over him. He pushed it aside, though not out of mind, stepping forwards again, though Virgil backed up a step. 

“Please, Anx. Listen to me. I was stupid. I was foolish. I acted rashly. I didn’t take into account the damage I was causing. I was blinded by my desire to keep everyone else from harm, I didn’t stop to consider the harm I was causing. I was not giving up on you.” 

“stop.” 

“I was never lying. I care deeply about you.” 

“Stop.” 

“I will never give up on you.” 

“Stop!” Anx was backed against the railing, eyes wide and chest heaving, Logan having matched him step for step, now looking down at him, silver pupils wide, face soft and hurt and far, far too kind. “Stop it, stopitstopitstop-“ Virgil gasped as Logan reached out, tugging him close, holding him tightly as he railed against him, as he struggled to get free of Logan’s grip, he didn’t want this, he didn’t want it, not when Logan had been so willing to leave, not when he wanted to be angry, not when he was already on the verge of breaking. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I love you, anx, you’re part of my family, and I’m so sorry I hurt you so badly, I’m so sorry.” Logan uttered, as Virgil gave up on his struggling, collapsing against him instead, hands curling into his shirt, choked, ragged sobs escaping. “If you fell, if you jumped, no matter how it happened, I would catch you. If I had to jump off after you to do so, I would without a second thought. I wouldn’t let you go.” He sunk to the ground with Virgil, as his legs gave out, pulling the boy close, feeling his own emotions welling up, at his desperate, staggered breaths, pressing his face to Virgil’s hair, cradling his head.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered again, pressing a kiss to the top of Virgil’s head. “I’m sorry.” 

“I kn-know.” Virgil gasped out, trying to get his breathing under control, trying to reign himself in. “I didn’t m-mean that, I didn’t-“ 

“Shhh.” Logan soothed, rocking him softly, as they lapsed into silence. He didn’t know how long they stayed there, on the ground on the balcony, before Anx finally let out a shaking breath, pulling away, eyes on the ground. 

“sorry.” He whispered, voice hoarse, and Logan’s brow furrowed. 

“You have nothing to be sorry for.” Anx shook his head. 

“I completely freaked out on you.” 

“And I made a terrible decision and hurt you deeply. You were well withing your rights to ‘freak out’ on me. I… deserved it. I’d rather have you let out your frustrations than bottle them up. And I am proud, of you. Despite your heightened emotions, you did not lose control of your power. You’ve learned so much, so fast, and I’m so proud, Anx.” He replied, tucking back Anx’s dark hair so he could see his eyes, which looked up at him with something akin to awe, like he was the stars, and it had never hit him, until then, how much exactly he meant to Anx. Gods, he was so blind, when it came to emotions like this. 

“Please understand this, Anx. My intent was not to leave you. My intent was to keep you safe. And it was not because of you, Anx. It was not your fault, in any way. I know in reality, I did leave you. I know in reality, I caused more harm than good. I will do my best not to cause you any similar distress in the future, and I am so sorry, for all of the pain. I don’t want you to leave, and likewise, I do not want to leave you. And I’m so, so proud of you.” He was nearly toppled over, as Anx lunged forwards, hugging him tightly, though more calmly than his earlier grasping. 

“thank you, Logan.” He murmured, before pulling away and shoving to his feet, holding out a hand, to help pull him up, wincing at the ache in his legs from being on the ground so long. Logan winced similarly as he stood, stretching his arms. 

“Linaria will be coming tomorrow. I thought I should tell you, give you time to prepare. I have no doubts that she will honor our agreement and be peaceful, but I know seeing her after everything may be… difficult.” He frowned, as Anx didn’t respond, looking off into the distance, as if lost in thought. “Anx?” 

“No one’s ever said they were proud of me. Not… not like that. Not like…” Anx jumped at his touch to the shoulder, though he didn’t pull away. He simply snapped back to attention, to reality, his eyes glassy. 

“Anx-“ 

“Virgil.” They said at the same time, both blinking owlishly at each other. 

“Virgil. My name is Virgil. I… thought you deserved to know. Wanted you… to know.” He looked away, fiddling with a loose string on his sleeve, biting his lip. “Anyway. I’m, um, I think I’m ok, now. So, I’m gonna go, somewhere else.” Virgil said, his spider hopping back onto his head, as he slipped out the door, and down the hall, leaving Logan standing alone, lost in a bit of a shell shocked stupor. 

Virgil. Virgil had told him his name. He felt something light, settle into his chest, found himself smiling gently, at Virgil’s retreating back. He knew Virgil meant it, when he said he thought he was ok, at least for the moment. He felt better, too, lighter, now that he was sure Virgil was fine. Virgil. It would take a while, to get used to that name, to the trust Virgil had in him, to share it. But Virgil was one of his boys, now, one of his family, and he would defend him and his trust to his last breath.  
…  
Patton hummed to himself, as he meandered through the greenhouse. Occasionally he paused, examining a leaf, murmuring encouragements, complimenting a pretty flower.

Vines climbed up the posts and edges of the space, small flowers blooming from them, plants overflowing from their pots, the air heady with earthy warmth.

He glanced up at the sound of soft footsteps, smiling at Janus and giving a small wave, before going back to his plant. 

“Hey, Dee.” He said softly, feeling him hovering over his shoulder, watching what he was doing with interest. “how are you?” He let out a long breath, leaning back against the table.

“Nervous. Trying not to be, and failing miserably. Why do you ask?” Patton raised a brow, continuing to water the plant he was looking at. 

“It’s only polite.” Damien huffed an almost laugh. 

“No, I mean literally, why do you ask? You can tell, how I’m feeling.” Patton shrugged, setting aside the watering can, turning to face him. 

“It’s still polite. It unsettles some, knowing I can sense their emotions, skim surface thoughts. So I ask. Just because I can feel something doesn’t mean you want me to feel it, or bring it up. So. Is there something you would like me to bring up?” He huffed another almost laugh, looking up at the light filtering through the glass ceiling. 

“What do I want to talk about, is probably a better question.” He muttered, shaking his head. Patton huffed, but changed the topic, walking over to the next row of plants, checking their leaves. 

“Where’s Remus?” He asks instead, hearing Dee shrug. 

“I told him I needed some time, to myself. He said that was alright, he was behind on his explosions quota for the month. I said perhaps now, when everyone is on edge, and expecting a visit from dragons who are known for spouting fire and causing explosions is perhaps not the best time to blow something up. He said that was why it was the best time make some noise. I rolled my eyes and he laughed, then ushered me out the door. So, really, who knows where he is now. I’d say preparing to launch an attack on Roman, but perhaps not, if Virgil is with him.” Patton hummed thoughtfully, and Damien raised a brow. 

“Patton?” He pressed. 

“Well… I know Lo was going to talk to him. Virgil. So… he’s pretty worked up. But it feels like he’s settling now, so they worked it out. Whatever ‘it’ was, exactly.” 

“Well. That’s something, I suppose.” 

“Dee. It’ll be ok.” Patton murmured, looking over at him, where he was leaning back against one of the tables. 

“you don’t know that. There’s a million things that could make it not ok. Make things not go… ok.” 

“Alright. That’s it. Time to relax.” Patton proclaimed, turning to Damien with a small smile, slipping a hand into his. 

“Relax? How could I possibly-“ 

“Did you know there are hot springs?” His eyes widened, and Patton giggled. 

“I did not. Where, hypothetically, might these springs be?” He asked, Patton laughing again, as he pulled him along. 

“They’re behind the castle grounds, tucked back in a copse of trees. I discovered it ages ago. We made a little bath house around it, but it’s private, and warded, from prying eyes or anyone who doesn’t have permission to enter.” He followed along slightly behind Patton, letting the pixie pull him along, not protesting as they made their way to the small bathhouse behind the castle, the steam instantly making his muscles relax before he’d even touched the water. 

He didn’t care if Remus blew something up today. Nothing could get him out of this water, no matter who or what it was, he decided, as he sunk into it nearly up to his nose. 

It was warm, delightfully warm, and wonderfully steamy, and it had a slight scent to it, minerals or rocks he didn’t know the names of, but he knew he liked it, liked the feel of the somewhat heavier than normal water around him, and he completely melted once Patton poured a few drops of something into the water that made the whole thing smell of lilacs and lavender. 

He’d used the tub in his room once or twice, but even that couldn’t compare to a soak in this, and he was going to give Remus an earful later, for holding out on him. Though, he wasn’t sure he’d ever mentioned his fondness for baths before, so perhaps Remus wasn’t entirely to blame. 

Still, it was hard to think for too long, to dwell on anything, with his senses taken up by all the delicious sensations and warmth and heady scents surrounding him. He quickly found himself slipping into a half aware, half asleep state, content for a while to simply be, and let anything else melt away into nothing.


	35. Chapter 35

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dragons arrive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, look at that, another chapter! I am sorry about the long wait, I've just been so low motivation recently. Also I'm procrastinating a bit because I don't want this to end and I want the ending to be perfect.

He was scared. He was so scared he was almost shaking with it, the only thing keeping him from fleeing was Remus’s arm around his waist, holding him close. Patton was on his other side, gently bumping against him, no doubt able to feel the stress radiating off of him, as they waited for the dragons to arrive. Roman and Virgil were behind them, one hand on his sword, the other intertwined with Virgil’s hand, who was squeezing it so tight his knuckles were white, doing his best to contain his own nervousness. And Logan stood at their head, gaze upwards towards the sky, looking for all the world unbothered, and Remy was nowhere to be seen, not that it meant he wasn’t nearby. 

Just as Roman opened his mouth to ask where they were, the ground shook with a distant rumble. He glared up at the sky, as shadows appeared on the ground, circling closer, until they shone in the air, sparkling colored scales nearly blinding against the sun, as they landed. 

“Dee, is that-“ 

“It’s Blue.” He finished for Remus, looking at the familiar dragon standing beside the violet form of Linaria, Blue giving a shake from his head to his tail, looking to Linaria, who snorted, starting to shrink, and in a moment, she was standing there in human form, Blue following a moment later. 

He turned into a slightly shorter middle aged man. He had brown hair, a few gray strands dusted in, and icy blue scales dotted across his cheeks like freckles, and over his hands, wearing a cozy looking brown knit sweater and dark pants, a baby pink shirt peeking out from under the sweater. 

“Linaria.” Logan greeted, stepping forwards, a small smile twitching on his lips as she accepted his extended hand with a small huff. 

“Logan. This is my brother, Emile.” 

“You almost singed me to ash!” Roman exclaimed, stepping out of the small huddle they’d become, glaring daggers at the two dragons, arms crossed. Emile smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“I am sorry about that, but you put me in a tight spot. I didn’t want to hurt anyone, but I wasn’t getting out of there, otherwise.” He answered, and Roman hmmed, though some of the hostility lifted from his gaze. 

“Well… I suppose that’s true. But if you’re her brother, why didn’t you say anything to Dee? Or tell her, before she swooped in and tried to kill all of us?” He accused. 

“He didn’t know for sure that Janus was mine. And though he had his suspicions, he wasn’t able to reach me. I haven’t been very easy to contact, recently.” She answered. “He’s not the only half dragon in the world, Prince.” Her eyes softened as she looked past Roman, to Damien, who was somewhat huddled between Remus, Patton, and Virgil. “And I owe all of you an apology. I was blinded by my own grief and anger. None of this was any of your faults. You didn’t know. You didn’t do anything. I just… I needed someone to blame. I let that control me. Because I lost… I lost everything.” She finished, voice wavering. “My nest mates were murdered. They were my family. And my baby was stolen. It doesn’t justify what I did, but what else… what else would you have done? If someone had hurt you, hurt your family, like that, what else would you have done but tried to make them pay for it, suffer for it?” She asked, a slight fire in her eyes, daring them to contradict her. 

“Nothing.” Virgil answered, surprising everyone, as he stepped forwards, looking between Linaria and Damien, eyes unreadable. “That’s exactly what I did, Dee. When I thought they’d killed you. I tore the whole place apart, I burned everything down. If anyone hadn’t fled, had lingered, I don’t know if I would have been able to stop.” 

“Vee…” Roman said softly, as Virgil looked away, shrugging. 

“Janus. It’s nice to meet you properly.” Blue, Emile, said. He smiled tentatively, trying to dispel the tightness in his chest. 

“hi. Again, I suppose.” He replied, giving a glance at Remus, as he lightly pushed him forwards, eyes saying ‘go on’.

“it’s ok, Dee. You got this.” He murmured, squeezing his shoulder. He hesitated, then turned back, facing Emile and Linaria, passing by Virgil and Logan, though he was still almost shaking, as he stood before the two dragons, before his mother, looking up at her violet eyes, her scales across her forehead and down her arms, her face, she looked so much like him. 

There was so much that he wanted to say. So many questions he wanted to ask, so much he wanted to know, about her, about himself, about what they are, who they are, where they came from, what other family he had, how to shift without it hurting, what other power he might have, he wanted to ask about those half memories he had from being a child, being with her, being with other dragons. He wanted to ask about the memories he’d gotten from her, flying with others, time in the castle, time with Logan, he wanted to ask how in all the worlds she hadn’t found him sooner!

“janus.” She whispered. It didn’t hold the cold, desperate edge it had when she’d attacked the princes, or the fiery anger that had been there when they spoke in his dream. It was warm, and soft, and hopeful, full of so much love and joy, it brought tears to his eyes. “Janus, my light, my love, my son.” Her voice splintered on the last word, and he couldn’t help it. 

Any insecurities fell away as he fell into her arms, clutching at her shirt, breathing in her scent of crackling smoke and soft wildflowers, feeling her arms wrapping him up just as tight, as she tucked him close against her, pressing her head to his hair, closing her eyes against the overwhelming emotions cresting over her, the breathy sobs tearing from her chest. 

Damien wasn’t fairing much better. He never wanted to move away, he wanted to stay like this forever, he had his mom, his mom was holding him, and she was so warm, the perfect amount of warmth, radiating from her and into his chest, warming something inside he hadn’t known was cold, or had, and had tried to forget, had tried to shove back, he’d spent so long pretending he didn’t care that he’d never had this that he almost believed it, but this dispelled any illusion that he hadn’t always been missing this. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, starlight, I lost you, I lost you, and I’m sorry.” 

“Why… why didn’t you find me, why didn’t you look?!” He gasped out, a spike of anger pulsing through him, and she pulled back just a tad, hands on his shoulders, one coming up and caressing his face, a small, sad smile on her face, eyes bright, unable to stop looking over every inch of him. 

“I tried, Janus. I scoured the worlds for you, but none of my magic, no one’s magic, could locate you. I tried everything, I looked everywhere, but you were nowhere to be found, and I was afraid if I kept looking, Thomas would do as threatened and harm you. I feared since I couldn’t find you it meant he wasn’t lying. I didn’t know what had happened for sure, I just knew… I just knew you were gone.” She answered, brushing back his hair, and he leaned into it, leaned into her, letting her wrap her arms around him once more, holding him close. “I knew you were gone, and I feared you were gone forever.” Her eyes were glistening, tears slipping down her cheeks, as she looked over Janus’s head, looking at the small group still gathered there, watching them closely. 

“Thank you. Thank you for finding him. Thank you for taking care of him. Thank you for bringing him back to me.” Logan simply nodded once, though the small smile on his face spoke volumes, as he slipped a hand into Patton’s, clearing his throat. 

“Of course. Now then, shall we head inside? I believe there’s still quite a bit to discuss.”   
…  
He stayed mostly quiet, as Logan spoke with Linaria, working on writing up an official treaty, the two of them speaking in jargon he didn’t really understand, talking about land allocation and resource divisions and other technical things he didn’t have much input for. Every so often, her gaze flicked to him, slightly disbelieving, slightly relieved, needing to reassure herself he was still here, was here at all, really.

Roman and Virgil had left, already bored, now that it was clear that no conflict was going to arise, though he doubted they’d gone far, probably the roof, Virgil always sought altitude when he was nervous. And it would give Roman a good vantage point if anything went wrong, to attack from above. 

Remus was giving him space, lurking around the edges of the room, barely noticeable, though he could feel his eyes on him, soft and reassuring. Patton was lingering near Logan, though his gaze kept sweeping over everyone, a small frown on his face, no doubt picking up on the tension everyone still held.

That left Emile, who was seated near him, and he could also feel those eyes on him, watching him, and he felt like he should say something, but he didn’t know what. He was still overwhelmed, still couldn’t believe this was happening, that any of this was happening. 

“How’re you doing, Damien? I know this must be a lot.” Emile said softly, though it still startled him, jumping slightly at the question. He let out a low breath, looking at Emile, for a moment, before looking away. 

“I never… I thought it was because of these. I thought no one had wanted me. A few weeks ago, I was stumbling more than half dead through the forest, ready to die. I didn’t think I had a family. I didn’t think anyone cared. I almost don’t know what to do with this.” He mumbled gesturing around to the room, full of people who cared about him. Who loved him. 

“you’ve been through so much. You’ve been so brave, you know that, don’t you?” He flushed slightly, looking down at the ground. 

“I just survived, until I couldn’t anymore. There’s nothing brave about that. About giving up.” 

“It is when you are choosing to give yourself to a fae, not knowing anything about them.” He let out a small sharp laugh. 

“That wasn’t brave. That was desperate. I expected him to kill me, either slowly or quickly, and quite frankly, I didn’t care which, as long as the humans at home didn’t get the satisfaction of ending me. I didn’t expect… Remus.” He answered softly, unaware of the fond smile creeping across his face, looking up as Remus rested a hand on his shoulder, smiling down at him. 

“Are you already shit talking me to your relatives?” He asked, making Damien snort, leaning into his touch. 

“Obviously. What else would I be doing?” 

“Certainly not deflecting compliments because you think you don’t deserve them, even though you deserve the world, Sunshine.” Remus replied. “You’re brave and smart and strong and incredible and I love you.” With every word, he flushed deeper, until he was hiding his face against Remus, burning with embarrassment and a soft, warm feeling in his chest, fizzing through him like champagne. Emile chuckled, watching the two of them, flirting like a pair of smitten kittens. 

“I love you too.” He mumbled back, sighing as Remus brushed his hand across his back, pulling him onto his lap with an arm around his waist. 

“Don’t hide from me, dragonlet, let me see that pretty little blush of yours.” Remus purred, making him shiver, as he tilted up his chin with one finger, immediately catching him in his swirling eyes. 

“Dragonlet. That’s a new one.” He replied, tilting his head slightly, the mischief in Remus’s eyes tempered with softness that sent his heart stuttering, as he reached up, brushing back his hair and caressing his cheek, stroking it with his thumb. 

“Well, I thought I’d switch it up a bit, now that you’re officially claimed as part of a dragon clan.” 

“mmm, the ‘let’ implies I’m small, doesn’t it? As a dragon I could eat you in a single bite.” 

“Do you promise?” He couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him at that, bubbling out of him.

“I thought I was going to crush you, you know. I was scared to move, I didn’t want to hurt you.” 

“You would never hurt me, sunshine. Never.” He stroked Damien’s cheek again, relishing the small purr it elicited, watching Damien’s eyes drift closed in contentment, leaning forwards so they were resting forehead to forehead. 

“You know my mother is watching us and my uncle is literally sitting next to us.” Damien mumbled, though he didn’t move away.

“Are you embarrassed, sunshine? Am I embarrassing you in front of your family?” He taunted lightly, getting a deep chuckle. 

“I’m just trying to keep you from getting attacked by dragons, again. There’s only so many times I can save you from them.” 

“The danger is the fun part.” Remus murmured back, quickly kissing his cheek. They drew apart at a soft throat clear from Logan, Damien turning a bit redder at everyone’s gaze focused on them. 

“I believe we’ve finished the most pertinent negotiations. The details and minutia can wait. Would you like us to stay, or would you lie some time alone, with your family?” Logan asked, and he took a deep breath, trying to relax, trying to calm down. 

“Some time. I think.” He answered, smiling as Remus squeezed his hand, giving his cheek another, longer, kiss. 

“I’ll be near, if you need me. And Remy’s closer than you think.” Remus answered, whispering the last sentence in his ear, pulling back with a wink. He huffed, slipping off Remus’s lap. 

“Of course.” 

“You’ve got this, kiddo. They’re good people, I can tell. They both just want the best for you.” Patton murmured, pulling him into a tight hug, which he sunk into, squeezing back for a long moment. Logan simply gave him a small smile, a small nod, a quick glance back at Linaria, before he followed the others out the door, leaving Damien alone with the two dragons.   
…  
“Janus…” He winced slightly at the use of that name. It connected to something inside him, it twinged at his soul, but it didn’t feel… right, not quite, not like when Remus used the name he’d given him. 

“Lin. That hurts him.” Emile said quietly, looking up at Linaria, who was still leaning against the desk her and Logan had been working at, though at Emile’s words she straightened, eyes soft and pained. 

“does it? Calling you…” He swallowed hard, standing, starting to pace, to get out the nervous energy filling him. 

“It just feels… off. I know, it’s what you named me. But it isn’t… it isn’t mine. Not really.” 

“of course. You never got the chance to be Janus. To be a dragon.” He winces again, feeling their eyes on him. 

“Who am I?” He asks, quietly, tugging at the ends of his sleeves. “Janus Brightscale of the Storm Wing clan. That’s what you said, what you called me. What does any of that mean?” 

“Brightscale is our family name. It’s passed down from generation to generation. It came from one of our ancestors, who had scales like crystal, that reflected the sun in prisms of rainbow. The ones who share that name, are our direct family. Clan usually is, but isn’t necessarily, extended family. Otherwise it’s made up of ones you’ve chosen as your family, close friends, partners. It’s the people who are yours, and you are theirs. Storm Wing is the clan I made, and lead, that I created after you were taken, gathering together those who would help me, who were angry as I was, who wanted to stop this all.” He nodded, taking it in, that made enough sense. 

“I’m only half dragon.” He said, looking between Emile and Linaria, who exchanged an unreadable look. “So. Who else, am I?” 

“He was a human. I met him, one summer solstice, when I crossed over to the mortal plain. I had intended to simply watch the festival from afar, but the excitement and energy got the better of me, and soon I was donning a glamour and wandering amongst them, partaking in the dances, the foods, the traditions. 

I caught his eye. And he caught mine. We flirted, talked, danced. I think he knew, by the end of the night, by the time the stars were coming out and the sun had set, I think he knew I was something other than human, but he didn’t ask and I didn’t tell. 

It was a single night. I don’t know his name, I don’t know where he was from or who he was, not really. It didn’t matter, that night. And then the months passed and it became clear that I was pregnant, and it doesn’t matter, who he was. I was just so happy. Children are so rare, and I never thought I would be lucky enough, but there you were, perfect and stunning and powerful enough to shift, not a guarantee, being half blooded, and I would have loved you regardless, but I worried, about your safety, your ability to get around the cliffsides, from aerie to aerie, if you couldn’t fly.” She looked at him softly, waiting for his judgement. 

“oh.” He mumbled simply, taking it all in. 

“I’m sorry, that I don’t know more. That I can’t give you more than that. But to me… you’ve always been mine.” He shook his head, shoving back his hair. 

“It’s fine, it’s… it’s more than I’ve ever had, anyway, and it’s not like I even expected to get that much. At least I know I was wanted.” 

“Always. Always, my starlight.” She answered, making him flush somewhat, unable to hold eye contact, with how intense her gaze was, how bright. How sweet her words tasted on his tongue, intense and heady like clover honey. 

“Damien. Do you… know how to fly?” Emile asked gently, and he snorted. 

“I don’t even know how to shift anymore, much less fly. I can… I have memories, of shifting, of being little, being… home, but those are weak, blurred. I only shifted here out of pure panic and instinct, I think. And it hurt, it hurt so badly.” 

“Oh, my star, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize, I didn’t think, how much I must have hurt you.” 

“it wasn’t your fault. It was bound to happen eventually. Ever since then, if I’m overwhelmed or something I can feel it, building, and I’m just… I’m scared.” He admitted, letting out a low breath. “I’ so scared I’m going to hurt someone. Hurt… hurt Remus.” 

“You won’t. We can teach you to control it, to shift, to fly. To do it all safely. If you want, that is. You don’t have to do anything you don’t wish to.” Emile said, gently setting his hand on his shoulder, making Damien’s breath catch.

“I would. Like to learn, that is, I want that.” He answered, voice shaking. 

“Ok. Then that’s what we’ll do.” And then he was enfolded in an embrace, melting into it with a soft sob, overwhelmed by it all. By this. By family. By finally, finally, knowing exactly who he was.


End file.
